Must Get Out
by Potato Chippy Weezer
Summary: Slight AU. She thinks he's an immature, selfcentered pig. He thinks she's a weirdo, gothic freak. What happens when they start to care? EllieSpinner shipper fic.
1. Senior Year, What A Drag

**Title:** Must Get Out

**Rating: **PG-13 for language and themes

**Characters: **Ellie, Spinner, Paige, Ashley, Marco…(pretty much everyone, eventually)

**Pairings: **Spinner/Ellie, not sure about any other pairings

**Summary: **Slight AU. She thinks he's an immature, self-centered pig. He thinks she's a weirdo, gothic freak. What happens when they start to care? Ellie/Spinner shipper fic.

**Disclaimer: **None of these characters belong to me. Don't sue.

**A/N: **Hey there. 'Tis my first Degrassi fanfiction, so forgive me if it seems a bit odd. This story is slightly AU because some of the characters that are normally friends aren't for the purpose of the plotline. There might be some OOC moments since I've only been watching Degrassi for a few weeks, but I'll try my best to keep everyone in character. And don't worry, no foreign exchange students, no girl with family problems, and definitely no made up Goth chick. In other words, this is not a Mary Sue. On and another thing, in this story, Spinner, Ellie, etc. are in 12th grade. Well, that's enough author note for one chapter. [Ashley, 5-9-03]

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**Prologue**

As far as the Degrassi Community School students were concerned, grade 12 was separated into two separate groups. On one hand, you had the "popular people". The jocks, the preps, and the trendsetters. On the other hand, you had the so-called "rebels". The loners, the Goths, and the ones that were generally more open minded.

Mr. Raditch and the rest of the Degrassi staff had tried time and time again to dismiss labels at their precious school, but they existed nonetheless. Your label decided what group you were in. And once you were labeled and put in that group, there was barely any chance of turning back.

As to be expected, the two groups didn't get along peacefully. Nobody bothered to keep track of the frequent fights between the groups. The people in your group were your family. Anyone else not in your group was your enemy. You stayed within your group, you defended your group, and most importantly, you were expected never to befriend someone in the opposite group under any and all circumstances. Those were the rules, and no one could be bothered to try and change them.

However, there is always that saying that opposites attract. And love is often fueled by hate, but as if finding love through hate isn't hard enough, there is always the task of getting people around you to accept it. Surely it seems like a lot of work for two people alone. Which brings up the question, is it worth it for someone you love to hate? 

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Chapter One: Senior Year…What A Drag 

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Spinner Mason growled at the red headed girl he just ran into. The girl glared at him.

"You're the one who ran into me, you brain dead pig," she shot back at him with just as much venom.

"Listen Nash, I don't have time for your shit, so why don't you do us both a favor and get out of my way," he said, lightly pushing her aside and continuing down the hallway.

"Jerk," Ellie mumbled under her breath. She turned back to her locker where she had been trying to remember its combination before she had been so rudely interrupted. 

'Let's see, 24…32…6,' she tried, but to no avail. She closed her eyes and started banging her head repeatedly against the stubborn locker.

'First day being a big bad senior…funny how a stupid jock and a locker can just ruin it all,' she thought with a mental laugh.

"Hey El, you shouldn't do that. Your brain might end up being as damaged as Mason's or Brooks'," a tall girl with short brown hair joked. Ellie looked up at the girl and cracked a smile.

"God forbid," she said with a laugh. "So Ash, first day as a senior. Pretty cool, huh?"

"It would've been if I hadn't run into Paige," Ashley said with a scowl. "Running into Paige is one thing, running into Paige this early in the morning is another story."

"I know what you mean. Spinner ran into me while I was trying to open my locker. He blamed the whole thing on me and stormed off. And just my luck, I get to seem him again in less than 10 minutes," Ellie closed her eyes in frustration. "Not to mention Paige, too."

"Four whole years with Spinner and Paige in the same homeroom. That's gotta suck," Ashley said giving her a sympathetic smile.

"Yeah, just my luck they decide to put the homerooms in alphabetical order," she said frowning. But her frown quickly turned into a smile as she waved to someone across the hall. A good-looking boy with dark hair and a 100-watt smile walked over to the two girls.

"Hey Marco," Ashley greeted her friend.

"Hey guys, how was your summer?" he asked with a smile.

"Marco-less. We barely saw you all summer. Where were you?" Ellie questioned him.

"It's kind of a long story," Marco said, still smiling but suddenly becoming very interested in his shoes.

"Well, give us the 6 minute version," Ashley said anxiously waiting to hear what had kept her friend so busy over the summer.

"Well, I went to visit my Grandma down in B.C. and I was only supposed to stay for a week. But," he blushed, "I met someone and ended up staying the rest of the summer." Ellie and Ashley gaped at him.

"Oh my God! You met someone?"

"What's his name? What's he like?"

"Well his name is Adam and he's…great," Marco concluded with a dreamy smile. It was obvious that Marco was very different from his friends. At first sight, most people would label Marco as a trendy prep who hung out with the "popular people". In fact, he did for most of his high school life, though he never held a grudge against anyone on the "rebel" side or treated anyone with disrespect. That's just how he was. But in the beginning of Grade 11, he admitted to his so-called friends that he was gay and they abandoned him. He thanked his lucky stars that Ellie, Ashley, and the rest of his real friends accepted him for who he was rather than look past him because of his sexual preference.

"Explain," Ashley laughed.

"Adam is just…Adam. He has light brown hair, blue eyes, and a body to die for," Marco gushed. Both Ellie and Ashley giggled uncharacteristically. "He's nice, funny, and did I mention he had a body to die for? As soon as we met, we clicked. He just so perfect."

"Wow, sounds like you really like this guy," Ellie observed. "What are you going to do about the whole B.C. thing?"

"Well, we talked about it and decided that it would be best for the both of us to just remain friends. That is, until next summer," he smirked. "Sure we'll still be friends. Friends with benefits, of course." Ellie and Ashley laughed. It was that minute that the bell rang. Ellie sighed.

"Well, I'm off to what some people like to call homeroom, and what I like to call hell." Marco and Ashley chuckled.

"You'll survive, you have for four years. But if you don't, I got first dibs on your CDs," Ashley joked. Ellie laughed and bid farewell to her friends. She slowly trudged up the stairs, dreading the moment she would have to step foot into Room 340. When that moment finally arrived, she exhaled slowly.

'I'll be fine. Homeroom's only 20 minutes long. That's not too long,' she thought with a small smile. Just then, Paige Michalchuk shoved Ellie out of her way and entered the dreaded Room 340. 'Only 20 minutes…20 minutes…,' Ellie repeated in her head in an attempt to calm herself. Ellie walked into the classroom and took a seat in the back, the farthest from Paige. She opened up one of her notebooks and started doodling. She was interrupted when she heard an annoyingly high-pitched laugh from across the room where Paige and her gang were pointing and laughing at her. Ellie rolled her eyes, repeated her mantra, and continued with her drawings. She was just putting the finishing touches on her piece entitled "Paige Gets Run Over By A Truck", when she heard a familiar voice calling her name. She looked over to the direction it came from and smiled.

"Hey Craig, how was your summer?" Ellie asked the curly haired boy as he took a seat next to her.

"Great! Me, Joey, and Angela went to the States to go sight seeing. You should see some of the shots I got. They're amazing," the aspiring photographer told her with a smile.

"Wow, that sounds awesome."

"Yeah, the only down side is that the phone won't stop ringing back at home. I swear, Joey must've met a girl in every state. Every five minutes someone is calling to ask why he hasn't called them back." Ellie laughed.

The class quieted down as soon as the teacher walked in. The teacher was a woman that looked about in her mid-twenties. She wore her long brown her in a messy bun and wore a pair of casual black pants and a white blouse. She looked like belonged in a Gap commercial rather than in a classroom.

She walked over to her desk without acknowledging the class and started unpacking her briefcase. She apparently noticed the silence of the class, because she looked up and looked around to see the whole class staring at her. She smacked herself on the forehead and walked up to the front of the classroom.

"Oh man, I'm sorry you guys. I'm such a retard," she cleared her throat. "Good morning class. My name is Ms. Keating and I will be your homeroom teacher for the rest of the year…was that okay?" she questioned the class while everyone continued to stare at her with blank looks on their faces. "Hey, I know it's my first day, but I can't be that bad! But if I am, tell me. I won't be offended, but if I trip you, it was an accident," she joked. No one laughed.

"*Cough*Lame*cough*," someone in the back said. The class laughed.

"Hm…tough crowd. Any who, since I have no idea who you all are, let's take roll." And with that, she proceeded to call out everyone's name, every once in a while making a corny joke nobody laughed at.

"What a fucking looney," Ellie heard Paige tell one of her friends. And for once, she agreed with her. As usual, the TV flickered on and Liberty Van Zandt's face appeared on the screen with the morning announcements. And as usual, no one paid any attention.

'Well, I guess this isn't as bad as I thought it would be. At least Paige and Spinner aren't being that annoying,' she thought as another high pitched laugh came from the other side of the room. She turned her head to her right to see Paige sitting on Spinner's lap, obviously having the time of her life. 'Eh…karma is the devil.' Just then, the bell rang, signaling the students to go to first period. 'Ah, saved by the bell.'

She took out her schedule to find that she had psychology first. She started walking her way to Room 232 when she got the strangest feeling that she was being followed. She turned around to see Spinner Mason right on her tail. 

"What are you looking at?" he snapped at her.

"Are you following me?" she questioned right back at him.

"Please, get over yourself. I'm walking to class if that's okay with you," he said sarcastically. She rolled her eyes and continued walking. She walked a few more feet and sure enough, Spinner was still behind her.

"Please tell me you're not going to Room 232," Ellie said desperately, closing her eyes in frustration for the second time that day.

"Yeah, so what if I am?" Spinner asked with a blank look.

"You idiot! That means that we are going to be in the same class," Ellie spat at him. Spinner continued to stare at her with a blank look, until after a few seconds when his eyes widened. He then shot her a glare.

"Well, just stay as far away from me as humanly possible!" he yelled angrily. She glared right back at him.

"Oh, so you actually think I want to be close to you?" Ellie laughed. Spinner scowled.

"Of course you do. Who could resist such a sexy thing like moi?" he asked while pointing to himself cockily.

"Uh, me," Ellie raised her hand to emphasize her point. Spinner looked like he was about to say something else when they both noticed Mr. Raditch walking towards them.

"Oh shit," they both said at the same time. They stared at each other in confusion while Mr. Raditch started yelling at them.

"Why are you two wandering around the hallways? The bell rang at least two minutes ago, why aren't you in class? I demand an explanation," the strict principal said while crossing his arms and giving them an incriminating stare.

"Uhh…Mas-I mean Gavin dropped his books and I was helping him pick them up," Ellie lied quickly.

"But I didn't drop my-," Spinner started, but Ellie cut him off with a jab to the ribs. Mr. Raditch raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"So you're telling me it took you two whole minutes to help Mr. Mason here pick up his books?" he questioned, obviously not believing the girl's story.

"Erm, yes sir. That's exactly what happened," Spinner said nervously after catching onto Ellie's plan.

"Are you two aware that skipping class is a Category 1 offense in the Student Handbook?"

"Oh yes, because I spend every moment of my free time catching up on all the offenses in the Student Handbook," Spinner said sarcastically while rolling his eyes.

'That kid does not know when to shut up,' Ellie groaned mentally as she watched the blood rush to Mr. Raditch's face in anger.

"Just for that Mr. Mason, you have earned Ms. Nash and yourself a Saturday of detention. I'm tired of you troublemakers thinking skipping class is okay, especially you seniors. The two of you better clean up your acts, especially you Mr. Mason, unless you want to spend the rest of your senior year in detention. Consider this a warning. Saturday, 8:00, I want the both of you in my office. But for now, get to class," he said sending them one last menacing glare before leaving the two seniors alone.

"Good going, dumbass. If you would've kept your big mouth shut, my Saturday would still be free," Ellie huffed at the boy. She started once again walking towards Room 232 hoping Spinner would keep his distance. Luck was definitely not on her side because Spinner caught up with her and started walking beside her.

"Hey, don't blame this whole thing on me. You were the one who started talking to me," Spinner accused.

"Yeah, whatever," she said walking into the classroom with Spinner right behind her. When the teacher noticed them, he frowned. He was a balding man with black-turning-white hair. He was also extremely tall, which made him very intimidating. And his piercing gray eyes and square glasses perched on the tip of his nose made him look even nastier. All in all, he could make a toddler cry with one look.

"Late on the first day I see? What are your names?" he sighed grabbing the attendance sheet.

"Ellie Nash."

"Spinner Mason."

"Spinner Mason? I have a Gavin Mason, but no Spinner," the teacher said sending Spinner a confused look.

"I am Gavin Mason, Mr…um, teacher. But you can call me Spinner." 

"I can call you whatever I please, Mr. Gavin," the teacher said with a glare. "And the name's Mr. Blitchster. Get it right."

"Aye, aye captain," Spinner said sarcastically while the rest of the class laughed.

"You had better watch your mouth," the teacher threatened. Spinner rolled his eyes, but nodded anyways. "Well, I already assigned the rest of the class a partner whom they will pair up with for the rest of the year. Since there are two of you, you can be partners. There will be a lot of partner activities, so get used to each other."

"But, Mr. Blitchster! I can't be partners with him! He's an idiot and we don't get along. At all," Ellie protested.

"Hey!" Spinner said at the 'idiot' part of Ellie's outburst.

"Well, Ellie was it? Maybe next time you should think twice about coming late to my class, no?" he said with a smile that sent chills down her spine. "You have interrupted my class long enough. You two can take seats at that table in the back. I don't want to hear a word from either of you for the rest of the class." Ellie walked her way to the table in the back and plopped down on the chair, Spinner doing the same. She glared at the teacher that seemed intent on making her life a living hell.

'Senior Year…what a drag,' she thought to herself laying her head down on the desk.

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Well, there's chapter one. Not much happening yet, but don't worry, there is a plot! Well, review and tell me what you think. Suggestions and constructive criticism is most definitely welcome. Thanks!

**[Ashley, 5-10-03]**


	2. Someone Up There Hates Me

**Title:** Must Get Out

**Rating: **PG-13 for language and themes

**Characters: **Ellie, Spinner, Paige, Ashley, Marco…(pretty much everyone, eventually)

**Pairings: **Spinner/Ellie, not sure about any other pairings

**Summary: **Slight AU. She thinks he's an immature, self-centered pig. He thinks she's a weirdo, gothic freak. What happens when they start to care? Ellie/Spinner shipper fic.

**Disclaimer: **None of these characters belong to me. Don't sue.

**A/N: **Hey there, Ashley here. I know, I know. Took me long enough, eh? I promise the third chapter won't take as long. But anywho, I apologize for the long wait. I could blame it on me going on vacation, or volleyball camp, or writer's block, but I won't because the only reason this wasn't updated was because I am a lazy ass. But, enough authors' note. More story! **[Ashley, 8-3-03]**

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**Chapter 2: Someone Up There Hates Me…**

Ellie rolled her eyes for what seemed like the billionth time at Spinner, who was currently making spitballs for his next target. The class seemed to go in slow motion, and it certainly didn't help that the teacher was sending her death glares every five minutes.

'Man, I haven't even been in this class for an hour and I'm already on the teachers' "Students to Kill Before I Die" list,' she thought with a sigh, but her thoughts were interrupted by a muffled laugh that came from right beside her. She looked over towards Spinner and followed his eyes to see what he was laughing at. And boy had she wished she hadn't.

"Oh God, that is disgusting," Ellie whispered quietly, but apparently Spinner heard her because he started laughing even harder.

"Hey, it's not my fault Dory hasn't discovered a hairbrush yet," Spinner's shoulders shook as he chuckled at his own joke. 

Poor Dory Thompson, the class of 2006's resident geek. She didn't group with either the preps or the punks. She was one of the few "nerdies" in grade 12. Her blonde hair, if you could even call it that, resembled more of a bush then an actual head of hair. It frizzed up every possible way, which made it unfortunate for the unlucky persons who sat within 20 feet behind her. It took a lot for one not to chuck a brush directly at her face. And as if her hair wasn't bad enough already, Spinner being Spinner thought it might be funny to throw spitballs right into the bush. Wads of paper drenched in saliva clinging to what resembled a poodle was not a pretty sight.

"You are so immature," Ellie muttered under her breath. 

"I'm not immature, you just need to get yourself a sense of humor," Spinner said indignantly.

"I hope you're not implying that I don't find anything funny, because as a matter of fact, I find a lot of things funny," Ellie said in her own defense. "Like you and Paige getting attacked by fierce zebras, then having all your hair pulled out by Czechoslovakians." Spinner laughed.

"Fierce zebras and Czechoslovakians?" Ellie could feel her face heat up as blush graced her cheeks.

"Hey, you won't be laughing when it happens," she said putting her chin in her hand. She stared at the teacher, trying to pay attention to his lecture on God knows what.

'Does he actually think anyone is listening?' she thought as she gave up trying to pay attention.

"I don't understand why you hate Paige so much. I mean, she's nice once you get to know her. Really nice, if you know what I mean," Spinner said with a wink.

"Ew! You know there is such thing as too much information," Ellie said in disgust.

"What's the matter? Jealous?"

"In your dreams, Mason. The day I'm jealous of you and Paige is the day Mr. Simpson dresses up in drag and sings Britney Spears."

'What a nice mental image,' she thought with a shudder.

"Well, thanks for the lovely mental image," Spinner said sarcastically, as if reading her mind. "I'll be having nightmares for the next ten years."

"No problem," Ellie laughed as she started doodling on her dividers. Spinner rolled his eyes and put his head on the desk, deciding that getting his beauty sleep was more important than arguing with Ellie.

Ellie continued doodling until she felt something light hit her forehead. She slammed her pencil down on her notebook and looked around the classroom.

'Alright, whoever threw that is dead,' she thought as she searched the room for the guilty persons. Her search came to a halt when her eyes rested on Elaine Maxwell.

Elaine Maxwell, or what she preferred 'Lain', was one of Ellie's friends. One of Ellie's more interesting friends to say the least. She had shoulder length dyed black hair, which was currently in a ponytail. She wore a 711 employee tee shirt with a tag that said 'Employee of the Month' and loose blue jeans. She had a few freckles covering her nose and Buddy Holly glasses over her eyes. She was a clueless girl who had a knack for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time and the attention span of a gold fish. But despite all of her less-than-perfect traits, she had been Ellie's friend since Grade 10.

Lain made a motion for Ellie to read the piece of paper that hit her head. Now, if it were anyone else, they would've thought that Lain was signaling 'Put the fish back in the bowl and come out with your hands up!'. But Ellie, after knowing the strange girl for 2 years, got used to her codes and signals. Ellie nodded towards Lain and opened up the crumpled piece of paper.

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_Ellie,_

_Hey there, hi there, ho there! Sorry, had a Bob moment. Anywho, there is a reason for me writing this, so don't just roll your eyes and start banging your head on the desk like you have every other time I've given you a note._

_And by the way, when you do read my notes, why not try and be a little more secretive about it? I mean, it's like you WANT the world to know what I write. What if I admitted to murdering by little brother's hamster, which I DIDN'T before you get any ideas. Yes, I know how your mind works Ms. Nash. Plus, when you're secretive about it, it's like you're James Bond. Well, technically you'd be Jamesette Bond because no one wants to be a Bond girl. They are always replaced by another Bond girl that ends up getting better outfits and- WAIT, DON'T THROW IT AWAY YET!_

_Well, back to the point of the note (yes it has one), you know Manny Santos, right? Well I got word that her brother (the one in college) is throwing a huge party on Friday. Everyone's going to be there, including college guys. HOT college guys. You know what that means…hot college guys plus party equals a very happy Lain. And maybe a very happy Ellie!  Who knows, you could end up meeting somebody._

_You have to go with me, Elle! You have to understand that I am boy depraved! Think about it, we both meet hot college guys that are ten times better then these Degrassi boys.  I mean, you haven't been serious with anyone since that Bobby kid, and that was centuries ago. Plus, that Bobby was a bad apple…a bad seed…a bad apple seed._

Anywho, back to the party. It starts at 8 and it keeps going all night. Yep, an all nighter. Well, I'll talk to you after class. Speaking of class, total dullsville, no?

_-Lain_

_P.S. I saw your little episode with Spinner. Pretty funny. Spinner is a simpleton, yes, but very cute._

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'She's calling Spinner a simpleton?' Ellie thought with a laugh. 'A bit like the pot calling the kettle black.'

Ellie rolled her eyes at the last comment. Although she'd never admit it, she did think that Spinner was quite the looker, but she tended to stray away from those thoughts as soon as he opened his mouth. 

'How am I gonna get out of this one?' she thought as she reread the note.

Although Ellie came off as a wild girl that loved the party scene, she was almost the exact opposite. Unless it was at a concert or a free show, she tended to shy away from big crowds and keg parties. She more enjoyed hanging out at local pubs with a more mellow atmosphere. Ellie also wasn't very big on drinking or drugs, so she certainly didn't enjoy that aspect of parties. All in all, she tried to stay away from parties that didn't include a live band and head banging, but was occasionally dragged by some of her more stubborn friends, Lain included.

'Lain will probably drag me along no matter what I say,' Ellie thought with a sigh. After a second of grieving for herself, an imaginary light bulb flashed above her head. 'Detention on Saturday! Can't go to the party if I've got plans in the morning, can I?' She did a little dance in her head, but her mental Macarena came to stop when she sensed someone reading over her shoulder. She looked over at Spinner who was leaning back in his chair reading her note.

"Do you mind?" she asked, crumpling up the piece of paper so Spinner couldn't read it, although it seemed as though he already had.

"No," was his sarcastic reply.

"Well, here's an idea. Why not try minding your own business?"

"Hey, I just wanted to see who it was from," he said putting his hands up in defense. "I didn't know you had any friends."

"You are so fucking hilarious."

"Well, I think so," Spinner said with a smirk. He ran a hand through his brown hair making it stick up every which way. If Ellie hadn't been so set on knocking his teeth out, she might even say he looked cute with his hair like that. "So I see you and Lain are going to Steve Santos' party on Friday."

"Not that it's any of your business, but yeah, I was invited. I don't think I'm gonna go though."

"Oh really? Why?"

"Detention on Saturday. Why do you care so much anyways?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm going to the party too, so I wanted to know if I was gonna see you there or not. I guess now I won't have to bring my ear plugs," he said while putting his arms behind his head and leaning back. "I don't have to listen to your bitchy, annoying voice."

"You are such an asshole," Ellie mumbled, rolling her eyes. Spinner just laughed. "Wait a second, I'm not the only one with detention. If I recall correctly, I do believe Raditch told us both to be in his office, 8AM sharp. Sure you want to go and get drunk the night before?"

"I already thought of that. I plan on going to the party, staying there all night, go to detention, then go back home and get my well deserved beauty sleep," Spinner said in a know-it-all tone. "Ahead of you as always, Nash."

"Yeah, you're one clever fellow," Ellie replied sarcastically.

"Funny," he said rolling his eyes at her. "So you're missing out on a killer party just because of Saturday detention? That's so typical of you. Little Ms. Nash afraid of getting a little drunk and pulling an all nighter."

"Would you shut up you little shit."

"Oh, touch a nerve?" Spinner laughed. Ellie huffed.

"You know what? I think I will go," Ellie said giving Spinner a fake smile. It was that moment that the bell began to ring. "Well, I guess you will have to bring your ear plugs after all." And with that, Ellie left to find Lain, leaving a stunned Spinner behind.

'Well at least I got him to shut up for a while,' Ellie thought with a satisfied smirk on her face. The smirk quickly left her face when she realized what she had just gotten herself into. 'Oh God, now I have to go!'

"Hey Elle! What's up?" Lain, who came out of nowhere, asked her friend who was now staring into space with a terrified look on her face. "You look like you've just seen Paige being nice!"

"Huh? Oh, nothing's wrong," Ellie said snapping out of the trance she was unwillingly pulled into.

"Good, so what about that party?" Lain asked, but didn't give Ellie a chance to reply. "Oh come on Elle! Just this once! Please, I would be in debt to you forever! Please! Pretty please with Brad Pitt's briefs on top!"

"I was gonna say yes, but watching you beg is funnier." Lain's face lit up.

"No way!" she said giving Ellie a hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! I wouldn't have any fun if you weren't there."

"Well, I might have to take a rain check if you suffocate me," Ellie choked out, trying to get out of her friends grasp. Lain let Ellie out of her death dug.

"Whoops, sorry," she said with a sheepish smile. Ellie just rolled her eyes and laughed. "So what's your next class?"

"Um…" Ellie started, pulling her schedule out of her pocket. She scanned over it and groaned. "Phys Ed."

"Huh? Why didn't you take gym in grade 9?"

"I wanted to put it off for as long as possible," she said, now wishing she had taken gym in her freshman year like almost everyone else had.

"Well, it's time to face the music. The gym's right down the hallway," Lain said, pointing towards the hallway to their right. "Don't worry, Elle. You're in my prayers."

"Well, at least I'm in someone's," she said with a grin. "Bye."

"Later." And with that, Ellie was left staring into the hallway to her doom.

'And I thought homeroom was bad,' she thought as she slowly made her way down the hallway. When she finally made it to the gym doors, she took a deep breath. 'Okay, it's just gym class with a bunch of freshman. How hard can it be?'

When she finally regained her confidence, Ellie opened the doors and walked through. She saw a lot of girls she didn't recognize sitting on the bleachers, and a lot of boys she didn't recognize fooling around with soccer balls and other gym equipment. She continued looking around the gym until she spotted a girl with long black hair and a huge smile on her face. Ellie immediately recognized that as Manny Santos.  She didn't know her that well, she only knew her because she was Ashley's step brother's friend. 

Ellie was about to go over and talk to Manny when she saw she was already talking to someone. She had seen him before over Ashley's house. He was another one of Toby's friends, but Ellie couldn't remember his name. J.B. or something like that. She started walking over to the two when she heard yelling from the other side of the gym.

"Head's up! Head's up!" someone yelled out. Ellie turned her head to see what was going on, only to get smacked in the face with a soccer ball. She lifted her head towards the ceiling, trying to ignore the stinging sensation that was coming over her face.

'Someone up there hates me…'

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Finally…this chapter was a bitch! Sorry it took so long. I can't make any promises, but I hope the next chapter will be out within two weeks. Oh, and just a side note. I know I'm being kind of mean to Paige in this story, but don't worry. It's just for the plot. I like Paige, she's one of my favorite characters. So it might seem like I'm giving her hell now, but she'll have a happy ending.

Thanks to the reviewers:

**Enthused: **Thanks for reviewing! I love The Breakfast Club, it's a great movie. Now that I think about it, it does kind of remind me of it. Again, thanks for reviewing.

**Norah2: **Yeah, Spinner/Ellie is my favorite Degrassi couple. Thanks for the review!

**Sharie: **Muchos gracias senorita ^-^

**Robin:** Yes, I know. It has been a while since I last updated, but I do plan to finish this story. It might take me forever, but I will finish it! Thanks for reviewing ^-^

**Jen:** The rest of it's coming. Slowly, yes, but it's still coming. Thanks for reviewing,

**Xtreme Nuisance:** LOL. I'm glad you like it ^-^ I like your penname. Thanks for reviewing. 

**Emmy-bone-kat: **Thanks for reviewing. I hope you like this chapter ^-^

Well, I hope you like this chapter. Hopefully the next one will be out soon. **[Ashley, 8-22-03]**

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	3. Junior High Love Affair Is OK

**Title:** Must Get Out

**Rating: **PG-13 for language and themes

**Characters: **Ellie, Spinner, Paige, Ashley, Marco…(pretty much everyone, eventually)

**Pairings: **Spinner/Ellie, Manny/JT, not sure about any other pairings

**Summary: **Slight AU. She thinks he's an immature, self-centered pig. He thinks she's a weirdo, gothic freak. What happens when they start to care? Ellie/Spinner shipper fic.

**Disclaimer: **None of these characters belong to me. Don't sue.

**A/N: **Third chapter. I made it this far, and this chapter didn't take as long as the last one ^-^ I really hope everyone is enjoying this so far, I'm having a lot of fun writing it. Oh yeah! And who saw Spinner and JT's new haircuts on the-n commercials? Can we say hot! I don't know why some girls don't like it…I guess some people just can't appreciate the hotness of the shag. Well, that's all the author's note I have for you today **[ Ashley, 9-1-03 ] **

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**Chapter 3: Junior High Love Affair Is OK**

"Oh my gosh! Are you okay?" Ellie heard a high-pitched voice ask from next to her. She turned to her left to find that Manny and Toby's friend had come up to her after she got hit.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine," Ellie said putting a hand on her now red cheek, trying to ignore the laughter that was coming from the bleachers. "Manny right?"

"Yeah, and this is JT," she said pointing to the boy next to her. 

"Ellie," Ellie said, reaching out to the hand JT extended, only to have him pull away and run a hand through his hair.

"Too slick for you my friend," he said with a smirk.

"Don't mind him. When he was a kid, his idea of fun was jumping down the stairs head first," Manny told Ellie as if it explained everything. JT glared at her.

"I love how you talk about me as if I'm not standing right beside you," he said sarcastically. Manny grinned. "Anywho, you're a senior right? What brings you around these parts? Didn't you take gym in Grade 9?"

"I was trying to hold it off as long as possible, but now I am starting to regret it. And you guys are in Grade 11, why didn't you take it freshman year?"

"Well, I wanted to take Theatre Arts Grade 9 and JT wanted to take Tech Ed Grade 10," Manny explained. "We always sign up for the same classes."

"Oh, I see. So you two are together?" Ellie asked. Manny blushed, while JT just laughed.

"No, just good buddies," JT said draping a casual arm around Manny while she continued to turn red as a beet. "Besides, my heart belongs to one of Paige Michalchuk."

"Paige? Ew," Ellie said making a face. "How can you like her?"

"That's what I said!" Manny piped in.

"It's simple, ladies. It's meant to be," JT said with an inferior smile.

"Oh really?" Ellie laughed.

"Oui, Mademoiselle. It's in the stars," he said with a dreamy look on his face. Manny just rolled her eyes.

"I'm sure." It was then that a manly looking woman with a sweat suit on came up to them. She had bleach blonde hair and dark roots, about 6 feet tall, and the physique of a body builder. Not a very pretty sight if you asked the three teens she was now glaring at.

"Why are you three over here chatting? This is Physical Education, not social hour," she said with a stern look on her face. She wrinkled her nose in disgust as her eyes made their way to JT. "And you young man. You go back over with the boys, you are contaminating the estrogen flow in this room." That was too much for Ellie, as she started laughing, but covered up with a coughing fit.

"Aye, aye captain," JT said, saluting the woman and winking at the two girls. "I'll see you two later."

"Pubescent, adolescent boys. What can you do?" the older woman said, shaking her head as JT ran back to the rest of his classmates. She nodded towards Manny and Ellie. "Enough standing around. Follow me." The girls obeyed as they followed the woman to the bleachers. Ellie and Manny choose seats closer to the back and waited for the teacher to start lecturing about staying in shape and why Phys Ed is required for a reason.

"Alright girls, listen up. My name is Ms. Casper, and no. Not like Casper the friendly ghost. For one, I'm most certainly not a ghost. And secondly, I am definitely not friendly," she sent an evil smirk towards the class which made most of the girls jump or turn a few shades lighter.

'Okay, teacher count so far. Homeroom? Lunatic that belongs in a mental facility and has smoked one too many joints. Psychology? Middle aged balding guy going through his mid-life crisis at the moment. Gym? Beef Jerky Spice. Enough said.'

"Hey you! Pay attention," Ms. Casper said, snapping her fingers right in front of Ellie's face. "You look a little old to be a freshman. Are you in the right class, missy?"

"Maybe that's because I'm not a freshman. I'm a senior, missy," Ellie said calmly.

"Oh, you must be one of those artsy types that puts off gym until the last minute," the woman said, as if she was reading her like a book. "I'll be keeping my eye on you, Miss…"

"Ellie Nash, but you can call me Sunshine if you want. And it is rude to make assumptions. You don't know me, so don't act like you do, sir." Ellie could've said it slipped, but that would be lying. She heard a few chuckles coming from around her and saw Manny's shoulder's shake from beside her. Instead of saying something else, she was content just watching as the teachers' face went through five shades of red.

"Quiet!" Ms. Casper snapped at the girls that were laughing. They immediately stopped, not wanting to endure any amount of pain from the frightening woman. "You listen here, Miss Nash. I will not, and I mean will not, tolerate your idiotic remarks or jokes. Keep your trap shut or I will fail you. And I'm not a fortune teller, but I do see you failing in the near future"

"Whatever you say Ms. C, but I'm quoting you on that," Ellie said with a smirk. She knew it was stupid to purposely try to piss the teacher off, but the lady was a bitch and once Ellie got going, it was hard to get her to stop.

"Anyways, as I was saying before I was rudely interrupted…" And the teacher continued rambling on about gym uniforms, lockers, and the 'participate or die' rule. "Alright ladies, we are going to go into the locker room and pick out a locker. Once you have picked a locker, stay there and I will come around and write down the locker number in case you forget."

Ellie picked a locker next to Manny's, seeing as she was the only person she knew in the class. Manny, however, seemed to know everyone, but stayed by Ellie most of the time. Ellie was about to comment about how the locker room smelt like feet when a petite, giggling blonde girl came up to them.

"Oh my god! Manny, we are in the same class!" she said, jumping up and down in excitement. "That is so awesome!"

"Oh, hey Claire," Manny said with a wave and a phony smile. "Yeah, it's real awesome."

"Well, I haven't picked out a locker yet, so I think I'll pick this one, right next to you," she said with a smile. "I better go get my stuff. Be back in a jiffy!" And with that, the chipper girl ran off to parts unknown.

"Ugh, she is so annoying!" Manny said with a groan.

"Well aren't we Miss Popular," Ellie said with a teasing smile. "Just about every freshman has come up to you to say how excited they are that they are in the same class as you."

"The downside to being on the volleyball team," Manny said. "The freshman usually try and suck up to the Varsity team. Friends in high places I guess." Ellie laughed and shook her head.

"I'm back!" Claire exclaimed. She ran up to Manny, now carrying a pink book bag and a matching pink purse. 

"Great," Manny said with a hint of sarcasm, but Claire didn't pick up on it.

"Who's your friend?" Claire said, eyeing Ellie.

"Oh, I'm Ellie," she introduced herself.

"Claire Shafer." There was an awkward silence between the three as Claire glared at Ellie. Her glare slowly disappeared as her face lit up. "Oh yeah! Manny, I forgot to ask you. Who was that cute boy you were talking to earlier before class started?"

"You mean JT?"

"Yeah. He is so hot!" she giggled. "You have to introduce me to him. I think I might ask him out."

"Um, no offense, but he already has his eye on someone. Paige Michalchuk," Manny explained. If Ellie would've blinked, she would've missed the gleam of jealousy that appeared in Manny's eyes.

"When he meets me, he'll forget all about that Paige bitch," she said with an arrogant smile. It was then that Ms. Casper came into their locker row.

"Name and locker number," she asked the three girls, ready with a clipboard and a pencil.

"Claire Shafer, 133."

"Manny Santos, 132."

"Ellie Nash, 131."

"Thank you ladies," she said to the girls, but Ellie didn't miss the glare that was sent her way. "You can go to the gym now. We are going to do an activity with the boys." The woman made her way down the locker row to get the rest of the locker numbers, while the three girls made their way to the gym.

"Yes! We get to work with the boys! Now you can introduce me to JT," Claire squealed, jumping up and down. 

"Um, sure," Manny said with an uncertain look on her face as they made their way into the gym. Manny and Ellie sat down on the bleachers and Claire followed.

"You already followed me to Homeroom and Psychology, and now gym? You must really like me, Nash," Ellie heard a new, but familiar voice say. She looked towards the direction it came from and cursed her luck. There standing before her was Spinner Mason.

"You have got to be kidding me," Ellie groaned. "Alright, I know you had to have taken gym in freshman year. You must be in the wrong class."

"I did take it freshman year. I'm a student aid. Say hello to Mr. Grint's new assistant," Spinner said with a smirk. "Since I was such a good student and I happen to be the star player of the soccer team, Mr. Grint asked me if I wanted to be his student aid. Of course I said yes, easy A."

"Hi there," Claire said flirtatiously. 

"Um, hi. Do I know you?"

"No, but I would love to know you. Claire Shafer, at your service," Claire purred, sticking out her hand.

"Spinner Mason," Spinner said with a raised eyebrow, taking her hand. "Well, I better get going. Good luck in gym, Nash."

"Fuck you!" Ellie yelled to Spinner's back.

"Oh my God! And I thought JT was hot!" Claire exclaimed.

"Spinner? Hot? No way," Ellie said in disgust. "He's an arrogant jerk that thinks he's hot shit. Hardly what I would define as a stud."

"Well you must be blind, because that Spinner is one of the finest guys I've ever seen," Claire said with a predatory look in her eyes. "And if I have it my way, he will be all mine."

"I hate to agree with Claire, but Spinner is very cute, even if he is a jerk," Manny said to Ellie. "But Claire, get real. He's a senior, you're a freshman. Besides, he's also got his eye on Paige. They have been dating for at least two years."

"Like I said with JT, once he gets to know me, he will forget all about Paige," Claire said with the same arrogant smirk. Manny rolled her eyes and Ellie shook her head at the girls' ignorance.

"You might not understand now, but once you see Paige, you will," Manny explained. "She's pretty, popular, and Spinner belongs to her."

"Well, I bet I am just as pretty and popular as her," Claire said confidently. "I get what I want, whatever I want. And I want Spinner. Well, I'm going to go find Samantha and tell her about all the hot guys I've seen so far." And with that, she ran off to go talk to one of her giggly friends.

"Saying she is just annoying is an understatement," Ellie said as soon as Claire left.

"Yeah, sorry you had to meet her."

"Oh, it' s okay," Ellie said. "If anything else, I think it's funny how she thinks she can get any guy she wants."

"She is such a joke!" Manny exclaimed. "First she's crazy about JT, then she moves onto Spinner within 5 minutes. Next she'll be after a teacher!"

"She probably would do that," Ellie laughed. "Speaking of JT, do you like him or something?"

"No!" Manny said a little too quickly. "Why would you say that? I do not like JT!"

"Alright, alright. It was just a question," Ellie said putting her hands up in defense. The two sat in silence for a couple seconds until Ellie heard Manny mumble something under her breath.

"What was that?" Ellie asked the now blushing Manny.

"I do like JT," Manny said quietly. "But you can't tell anyone, especially not him."

"I won't, but why don't you tell him yourself?"

"Because he doesn't like me. He just sees me as a best friend, not a girlfriend," Manny sighed. "And no matter what I do, it will always be like that. I've tried everything. Dating other guys to make him jealous, dressing differently to make him notice me, everything! I've tried to get over him, I really have, but every time I talk to him, I like him even more. And it kills me that I know that we will always be just best friends." Ellie's heart ached for Manny as she told her all about her crush on her best friend. Under her rough exterior, Ellie was a hopeless romantic at heart. And even though she had really only known Manny for about an hour, it broke her heart to see Manny so depressed.

"Don't worry. You're not the only one with romance problems," Ellie said, trying to console Manny. "All of the guys I have gone out with have been completely wrong for me. One guy I went out with had obsessive-compulsive disorder, and he would constantly come over and clean my room. And another guy I went out with had turrets syndrome. We'd be out having a nice dinner and all of a sudden, he's start cussing out the waiter saying that his food was talking to him or something." Ellie smiled, as that got a laugh out of Manny.

"I can't say that's ever happened to me," Manny said with a chuckle.

"And hope it never does," Ellie added.

"Alright ladies," Ms. Casper said to the class as she walked into the gym, "since it took so long for everyone to pick a locker, we won't have time to do the activity I had planned. We have about ten minutes before the bell rings, so if you have money for a gym uniform, now is the time to give it to me. You must have both a gym uniform and a combination lock next class. Remember, the uniform costs $25, so bring in the money next class. Oh, and Manny Santos, this bus card came from the office. They said they got the correct number on it this time."

"Thanks," Manny said as the teacher handed the card to her.

"You still ride the bus? Don't you have your license?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah, I got it this summer actually," Manny said, putting the bus card in her book bag. "But I don't enough money for a car, so I ride the bus."

"Well, I could give you a ride home in the afternoon if you want," Ellie offered. "My car's a piece of shit Toyota, but it works."

"Really? Are you sure it's okay?"

"It's fine, I already drive my friend Lain to work after school, one other stop won't be any trouble. Just meet me in the lobby after school."

"Thanks! I hate riding the bus," Manny said with a smile. "Are you sure it's okay?"

"It's no problem," Ellie reassured her. "It's not fair that you should have to ride the big yellow ugly three years in a row."

Manny just laughed.

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That chapter was really fun writing! At least the wait wasn't as long as last time. I really hope you liked this chapter. I'm in a really good mood, I don't know why. Maybe it's because we won the first volleyball game of the season! Oh man, that rocked. But anyways, thanks to the reviewers:

**Icy Guardian: **Thanks for the review! I'm glad you like my story. Thanks ^-^

**PsYcHoJo: **I hope you like this chapter. Thanks for reviewing!

**The Shire Fairie: **I'm glad you read my story, even though you usually never read Ellie fics. Thanks for giving mine a chance ^-^

**TakingBackWeezer: **Thanks for the review. The one thing I was worried about was keeping all the characters in character. I'm glad you think my portrayal of Ellie does her justice. They don't show much of Ellie on the show, so I did the best I could. I love your penname! 

**Afradeofthedark: **Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you like the Spinner/Ellie pairing ^-^

Well, hopefully the next chapter will be out soon. Until then…

**[ Ashley, 9-7-03 ]**


	4. Cool Kids Never Have The Time

**Title:** Must Get Out

**Rating: **PG-13 for language and themes

**Characters: **Ellie, Spinner, Paige, Ashley, Marco…(pretty much everyone, eventually)

**Pairings: **Spinner/Ellie, Manny/JT, not sure about any other pairings

**Summary: **Slight AU. She thinks he's an immature, self-centered pig. He thinks she's a weirdo, gothic freak. What happens when they start to care? Ellie/Spinner shipper fic.

**Disclaimer: **None of these characters belong to me. Don't sue. The song '1979' belongs to The Smashing Pumpkins.

**A/N: **Well, to tell you the absolute truth, I didn't think this chapter was going to come out for at least a month. But I decided that would be mean. And plus, I had Thursday and Friday off of school because of hurricane Isabel and I also have tomorrow off, so lots of free time on my hands. Not to mention I needed something to keep me occupied so I don't go insane. I haven't played volleyball in 4 days and it's making me crazy. Volleyball is becoming my life…and that's sad. Well, onward!**[ Ashley, 9-21-03 ] **

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**Chapter 4: Shakedown 1979, Cool Kids Never Have the Time**

"So meet me in the lobby after school?" Ellie asked Manny as the bell rung.

"Okay," Manny said gathering her things. "See you then."

"Alright, bye," Ellie bid farewell to Manny and the two girls went their separate ways.

'Ah, free at last,' Ellie thought as she headed towards the library. 'Off to Study Hall AKA Show up for the first five minutes then go home.'

To make a long story short, Study Hall was one of those bull shit classes that all you have to do is show up to get an A. As long as there were a few people there that actually used Study Hall to study, you could leave and the proctor wouldn't even notice. Half the time, the proctor was either asleep or not even there, so everyone usually left.

When Ellie finally made it to the library, she noticed Marco sitting at a table near the back of the room.

"Hey Marco," Ellie said taking the seat next to him. "I didn't know you signed up for Study Hall."

"Oh, hey Elle," he replied, looking up from the book he had been reading. "I only signed up because my Mom said I should take a break before AP Chemistry."

"AP chemistry?" Ellie said with a humorous whistle. "I could barely get by with a C in standard Chemistry, but Advanced Chemistry? I think you got a little too much sun this summer." Marco laughed.

"Yeah well, just because you suck at Chemistry doesn't mean we all do," he said jokingly.

"Oh, shut up," Ellie laughed and punched him lightly on the shoulder.

Just as the late bell rang, an overweight man with a bored look on his face walked up to the desk in the front of the library and threw his briefcase on top. He had gray hair and thick glasses that magnified his eyes, making them look quite large. 

"Alright, I'm Mr. Jar and this is Study Hall," he said in a monotone voice that made Ellie want to put her head down and fall asleep. "The name is exactly what it is. You come here to Study and prepare for any upcoming tests or whatnot. From now on, whenever you come in here you will sign this attendance sheet so I know that you're here. But since it's the first day, I'm just going to pass it around. So sign your name, then pass it on to the next person. After you've signed your name, you are free to roam around the library. If you need me, I'll be at my desk."

As soon as the attendance sheet made it's way to Ellie and Marco, Ellie quickly scribbled her name and started packing up her books that she had taken out for no reason whatsoever. 

"Where are you going?" Marco said after he passed the attendance sheet to the next table.

"Duh, somewhere a little less dull then here," she said smacking him lightly on the forehead. "Aren't you coming?"

"Nope, sorry Elle," he apologized. "It's the beginning of the year, I want to get a good start. I'm hoping for a 4.0 this year."

"You are such a nerd," Ellie laughed. Marco grinned.

"Why Ellie, dear. You offend me greatly."

"Don't worry, you're my favorite nerd," she smiled and gave him a peck on the head. "Well, have fun studying. You're the only one I know who can."

"Yeah, yeah. See you later." 

"Bye," she waved to Marco and exited the library. She took a right and went out the door in the back of the school. She quickly scanned the parking lot until she spotted her '96 barf green Toyota. She headed over to her car and checked her watch.

'Hm…an hour and 45 minutes to do whatever I want,' Ellie thought with a satisfied grin on her face. 'Oh, the possibilities.'

She took out her keys and got in the car. She put the key in the ignition and started 'her' up. Only problem being, 'she' didn't want to be started up. Ellie tried again only to get an agonizing screech back.

"Oh come on! Don't do this to me!" Ellie said starting her up one more time, but no luck. "Shit!" She banged her head on the steering wheel, only to have a very loud horn scare her half to death. Once she finally calmed down, her heart once again started racing because someone had decided to knock on her window that very second. She tilted her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes.

'Damn it,' Ellie thought, knowing for sure it was Raditch. 'Busted, twice in one day.'

But when Ellie saw who it was on the other side, she wasn't sure whether she should be pissed or relieved. She rolled down the window and glared at the person.

"Mason, what the hell do you want?" she asked angrily. Spinner just grinned at her.

"I noticed you were having car problems," he said tapping the car's hood.

"Yeah, what's it to you?" Ellie said wanting nothing more to run over the boy that made her life miserable.

"Well, I just happen to know a lot about cars. I am, in fact, the assistant manager of Max's Auto Body Shop," he said with a smirk. 

"That's great and all, but oh yeah. Maybe you forgot," Ellie said sarcastically, "I really don't give a shit."

"Well maybe you will give a shit if I offer to fix your car up in no time. And now that I have, what do you say?"

"I'd say you must think I'm a real idiot if you actually think I'll buy that," Ellie said with a roll of her eyes. "What's the catch?"

"No catch, I just need you to drive me to the mall and back to school," Spinner said hopefully.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me," Ellie said with a laugh.

"Come on? Please?"

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to say no to that one," she said starting to roll up her window. 

"Alright, fine. But if you don't have a car, how will you get home?" Spinner asked casually. He put a hand to his chin and made it look like he was thinking. "Oh, I know. You could always ride the bus. I'm sure the smelly kid with the Digimon book bag would be happy to sit next to you. Or, you could catch a ride with Cory the Headgear Kid and his mom. But Cory always gets shotgun, riding in the back makes him carsick."

'Oh man,' Ellie thought with a cringe. 'He's right, and that never happens! And what about Lain? She won't be able to go to work. And I told Manny I'd drive her home. Oh…crap!'

"Fine," Ellie said stubbornly.

"Great," Spinner smiled. "Give me ten minutes, and she'll be fixed in no time."

Ellie had doubted him at first, but found that Spinner was indeed a man of his word. He was, as he said he would be, done in ten minutes. Maybe even less. Ellie had to admit she was impressed, but that didn't mean she had to tell him that she was.

Once he was finished, Spinner wiped his oily hands off on the inside of his shirt, much to Ellie's dismay.

"Gross," Ellie said, scrunching her face up in disgust as Spinner sat in the passenger's seat. "The least you could do was go back inside and wash your hands." She put her foot on the gas and they were off.

"It's not like anyone's going to be looking at the inside of my shirt. Well, anyone who would see the inside of my shirt probably wouldn't care much at the time anyways," Spinner said suggestively with a wink. Ellie rolled her eyes.

"Alright, there is a one lame, perverted joke limit in this car and you just used yours," she said. Spinner laughed.

"But you still have yours," he said. "Better use it wisely. If I had known that there was a limit, I would've given you one ten times funnier. I'm the king you know."

"I'm sure," Ellie laughed and Spinner laughed with her.

'Oh my God. I'm laughing with him, not at him. This is way too weird. Back to School weirdness sinking in I guess,' Ellie thought, trying to convince herself.

"So, why do you need to go to the mall?" Ellie said, changing the subject. "Not that I care or anything, but it's my gas you're wasting, so it had better be important."

"It's Paige's birthday tomorrow and it's the first year I haven't forgotten," Spinner started. "I worked double shift and everything just so I had enough money to get her something nice for once."

"I'm wasting gas money on Paige?"

"Well, it's better than driving home with Cory the Headgear Kid," Spinner said nudging her in the arm.

"I guess so," Ellie agreed. 

'Did he just touch my arm?' Ellie thought to her self as she tried to concentrate on the road. 'What is his problem? He's acting like we're friends or something'

Ellie shifted uncomfortably before turning on the CD player to ease the awkward silence that was forming. Smashing Pumpkin's "1979" filled the air and was the only sound heard until they reached the mall.

"So what are you planning on getting her?" Ellie asked him as they strolled past the Young Miss section.

"I don't know, I was thinking maybe a CD or something," Spinner said with a shrug. Ellie stopped dead in her tracks.

"Okay, first you tell me you worked double shift so you could get her something nice and you want to get her a CD?" Ellie asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Spinner said. He had a disappointed look on his face, until his eyes lit up. "Oh, I know! She likes cheerleading, I could get her pom-poms or something. Or maybe one of those cone shaped things they yell into. What are they called?"

"You are unbelievable," Ellie shook her head as they walked past the lingerie section. "I actually feel sorry for Paige. She has the biggest jackass in the world for a boyfriend."

"Paige doesn't have a boyfriend," Spinner told her in a matter-of-factly tone.

"Um, yeah she does," Ellie said, obviously confused.

"No, if she did, she would definitely tell me," Spinner informed her.

"What are you talking about? You're her boyfriend!" Ellie blurted out, making a few of their fellow shoppers look at her funny.

"I'm not Paige's boyfriend," Spinner told her with a raised eyebrow.

"What? You two have been going out for like two years, you're Degrassi's hottest couple," Ellie said, realizing just now that everything she had heard or thought about Spinner and Paige was probably wrong.

"Well if we are, someone forgot to tell me. Yeah, we went out for a while back in Grade 10, but we're just friends. You do have a chance after all, Nash," he said with a smirk.

"Oh stop, you're making me blush," Ellie said sarcastically in a plain tone, not unlike that of a certain Daria.

"But you may have to wait. There will be a very long line ahead of you," Spinner laughed. Ellie bit her lip to keep from smiling and rolled her eyes.

"You keep telling yourself that."

In the end, Spinner decided on an expensive silver charm bracelet that he found in Express, which Ellie refused profusely to go in. After buying the gift, the pair started wandering around the mall.

"Well, we still have like a half an hour before fourth period starts," Ellie said, giving Spinner a time check.

"Man, that means I missed lunch," Spinner said.

"We can eat here if you want, but you're paying," Ellie said, feeling hungry herself.

"Why do I have to pay?" Spinner whined childishly while walking towards the ice cream stand.

"Because I was a nice girl and drove you here," Ellie said sweetly as she stepped in line with him to get ice cream. "And if you don't, I'll leave you here."

"How nice," Spinner said sarcastically.

When they got to the cashier, they both gave their orders, which happened to be the same thing. A one scoop strawberry ice cream on a cone with sprinkles on the top.

'Well that was disturbing,' Ellie thought as they made their way to a table after they got their ice cream. 

"So what were you doing skipping anyways?" Spinner said, interrupting her thoughts.

"I have Study Hall third period," Ellie shrugged. Spinner nodded in understanding.

"I have Child Development Study third period. I decided that one class probably wouldn't make a difference," Spinner rolled his eyes.

"You take CDS?" Ellie laughed. Spinner blushed.

"Shut up. My mom made me take it," Spinner said, suddenly becoming very interested in the table. "She said if I ever did have unprotected sex, she wanted me to be prepared." 

"Oh my God!" Ellie exclaimed and started cracking up. "That's the funniest thing I've ever heard!"

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up," Spinner said, the corners of his mouth twitching. 

"Spin?" someone from behind Spinner said.

"Paige, what are you doing here?" Spinner asked, standing up. Ellie stopped laughing and considered hightailing it out of there as soon as possible, knowing that this wouldn't be pretty.

'Just need to find the nearest exit,' she thought, looking around.

"It's lunch period for me and you know I wouldn't be caught dead eating anything Shelia serves," Paige said folding her arms across her chest. "I think the real question is, what are you doing here? And with her?" She nodded towards Ellie. Ellie rolled her eyes.

"I needed a ride to the mall, and she was the only one around," Spinner told her.

"Oh, so I wasn't your first choice?" Ellie said in mock angry voice. Paige glared at her.

"Hun, stay out of this, okay?" she told her snottily. After sending her a death glare which Ellie happily returned, she turned back to Spinner. "Why on earth did you need to go to the mall?" Spinner thought for a minute, then let out a dramatic sigh.

"Well, it was supposed to be a surprise," Spinner said, handing her the Express bag, "but Happy Birthday." Paige took the bag, looked inside it and squealed. Ellie grimaced at the sound.

"You remembered!" Paige said happily, putting the charm bracelet on. "I love it! Thank you so much, sweetie!" She gave him a hug. Ellie sat there awkwardly, watching the exchange.

'Yeah, now would be a great time to leave,' she thought to herself.

"Well, I hate to interrupt this little Kodak moment, but fourth period calls," Ellie said standing up.

"Spin, you can get a ride with me," Paige said, linking arms with him.

"Um, okay. Thanks, Nash," he said before he was dragged away by Paige.

"Anytime, moron," Ellie shook her head and laughed. "Anytime."

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Wow, I'm done. I hope you liked it. I felt the need to put a Smashing Pumpkin's song in at least one of my fics. Well, review and tell me what you think. Speaking of reviewers:

**Afradeofthedark: **I'm glad you like it. Sorry I'm not updating very often, but I try to update whenever I can. Thanks for reviewing.

**Solus Nemo: **Oh wow, thank you so much. I am a big fan of your work, so I was really excited when I saw that you reviewed my story. Your review really made me smile ^-^ Thanks for reading and reviewing.

**Care bear1017: **I'm glad you like it, and I hope you liked this chapter. Thanks for reviewing.

**PsYcHoJo: **Why thank you, dearie. LOL. And who knows, maybe someone will end up smacking Claire. Thanks for reviewing. 

**Cinnamon Curls: **LOL, I'm glad you love, love, love my story, and I hope you liked this chapter. Thank you so much for reviewing.

**Chocl8chps: **I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks Spinner/Ellie would be cute. Thanks for reviewing, and I hope you liked this chapter.

**No-halos: **Thanks for the review! I'm happy that you like my story, and I hope you liked the new chapter.

**Ellectra: **I like the old season, too. But I've only seen the School's Out movie. Wow, your friend is an extra? That's awesome! Thanks for reviewing. And I agree, Spinner is very hot! LOL.

**Emmy-bone-kat: **LOL, you used a two-dollar word! Golden star for you. Anywho, thanks for reviewing and I hope you liked this chapter.

**Kittie06: **Hey there. Thanks for pointing that out to me. I think you're referring to the summary where it says "He thinks she's a weirdo, gothic freak." I put that because both Spinner and Ellie have judgmental opinions of each other. Ellie sees Spinner as a jock, but he really isn't. Spinner sees Ellie as a Goth, but she really isn't. They are both giving each other labels based on what they think about each other. I hope that cleared things up. Thanks for reviewing.

**TearsOfTheStars: **Yes, getting hit by a soccer ball in the face does hurt. Getting hit in the face with a basketball and volleyball hurts as well. LOL. I guess it was a tribute to anyone who has ever been hit in the face with any time of ball. LOL. Anywho, thanks for putting me under you Favorite Stories list ^-^ And thanks for reviewing.

**EvenAngelsFall22: **Thank you for reviewing. I can tell by your stories (which I love, by the way) that you are a big Spinner/Paige shipper, so I'm glad you gave this story a chance. Oh, and the whole Gym teacher/Beef Jerky Spice thing was based off my gym teacher in 9th Grade. She was…scary. LOL. Thanks for reviewing and I hope you liked this chapter.

Thanks you guys. Gold stars for all of you. Wow, I just read Degrassi spoilers for season 3. And if they are true, whoo boy…this should be one interesting season. If your like me and can't wait, the spoilers are at the Degrassi The Next Generation yahoo group. Well, hopefully the next chapter will be up soon. Bye.

**[ Ashley, 10-12-03 ]**


	5. Bygones Have All Gone By

**Title:** Must Get Out

**Rating: **PG-13 for language and themes

**Characters: **Ellie, Spinner, Paige, Ashley, Marco…(pretty much everyone, eventually)

**Pairings: **Spinner/Ellie, Manny/JT, not sure about any other pairings

**Summary: **Slight AU. She thinks he's an immature, self-centered pig. He thinks she's a weirdo, gothic freak. What happens when they start to care? Ellie/Spinner shipper fic.

**Disclaimer: **None of these characters belong to me. Don't sue.

**A/N: **I really shouldn't be working on this. I should be reading 'The Time Machine' and getting my IRP done. But this is way more fun to work on than working on a stupid English project. However, I thought I had this whole story planned out from beginning to end, but I just realized that I really don't. Writer's block should be hitting around chapter 7 or 8, so I apologize ahead of time. Anywho, enjoy the chapter.

**[ Ashley, 10-17-03 ]**

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**Chapter 5: Bygones Have All Gone By**

By the time Ellie had arrived at school, the late bell had already rung. She cursed her luck as she made her way to Room 237 for the last class of the day, English.

'Perhaps if I explain to the teacher why I'm late they'll excuse it,'Ellie thought sarcastically to herself as she trudged up the stairs. 'Yeah, I can see it now. 'Oh, hi. Sorry I'm late. I decided to skip third period and go to the mall. Traffic was horrible on the way back. Hope you don't mind.' That'll go well.'__

Ellie decided to try her luck and sneak in the back door as quietly as possible, hoping the teacher wouldn't notice. She opened the back door and tiptoed in the classroom. However, she found her attempts to sneak in were in vain, as there was no teacher around to scold her for being tardy.

Her classmates were scattered all over the room, some talking and laughing with their friends, some listening to music, and some throwing paper airplanes at unsuspecting victims. The scene was unreal, looking like it had come right out of a teen movie. 

'What the hell?' Ellie thought, taking in her surroundings. She was about to make sure she was in the right room, when she heard someone calling her name. That someone being Ashley Kerwin. Ellie slowly walked over to her friend, barely dodging a paper ball that was targeting her.

"Hey Elle," Ashley said, putting her disc man away. 

"Um, hey Ash," Ellie said, wondering if she was delirious. "What's going on?"

"Oh, when we got here the teacher rushed to the bathroom, saying she'd be back in a minute," she shrugged and looked up at the clock hanging on the wall. "It's been at least 15 minutes. I wonder what's wrong?"

"She forgot to take her diarrhea pills, that's what's wrong!" some immature fellow who had overheard them yelled out. Ashley and Ellie both rolled their eyes simultaneously.

"Idiot," Ellie mumbled under her breath. "Well, whatever plague she does have, I'm glad she has it. I thought maybe I'd be 3, at the most 5 minutes late. But 15 minutes? Two of my teachers already hate me, I don't think I need another one wishing death to fall upon me."

"So why were you late?" Ashley asked in a teasing tone. "Get stuck in the janitor's closet again?" Ellie groaned as she brought up one of her not so fond memories.

It was the first day of Grade 9, and Ellie's first day at Degrassi. It was bad enough being at a brand new school where she knew no one, but this brand new school just happened to be huge and Ellie had no clue where she was going. After circling the school many times in search for Room 340, Ellie decided it would just be best to go to the office and ask for a map or something. However, the door Ellie thought was the door to the office turned out to be the door to the janitor's closet. Ellie remembered watching in horror as the door shut and the lock clicked. It was 20 minutes before someone had found her. And although Ellie was thankful that Ashley had finally gotten her out of that god-forsaken closet, she wished she would forget it ever happened and quit reminding her every time she got.

"Fortunately no," Ellie mumbled under her breath. "I skipped third period and went to the mall."

"The mall?" Ashley asked, raising her eyebrow. 

"Hey, it wasn't my idea. I was blackmailed into it," she defended herself, "by none other then Spinner Mason."

"Oh really? How so?" Ashley laughed.

"It's not funny! Something was wrong with my car and it wouldn't start, so he said he'd fix it if I drove him to the mall."

"So you drove Spinner to the mall because he fixed your car?" Ashley asked disbelievingly, raising her brow once again. "Fifty bucks to have it looked at by a professional is a small price to pay compared to a ten minute drive with Spinner in the seat next to you."

"Well, I would rather that than catch a ride with Cory the Headgear Kid," Ellie said, recalling Spinner's words of consolation. Ashley laughed.

"Why did he have to go to the mall anyway?"

"He had to get a present for Paige," Ellie said with an irritated sigh.

"Figures."

"Oh, and did you know that him and Paige aren't even going out?"

"Yeah," Ashley said with a nod. "Didn't you?"

"No!" Ellie exclaimed.

"God Ellie, like get with the like program," Ashley said mimicking an airhead by twirling the ends of her shoulder length hair. Ellie laughed.

"Sorry, next time I'll try to keep up with the Spinner-Paige gossip," Ellie said, rolling her eyes. Ashley laughed.

Just then, the door burst open and a middle-aged plump woman stumbled in. She had short, curly red hair, with the occasional streak of white. Large glasses with lenses that looked like magnifying glasses covered her eyes and the bags under them. Her blue eye makeup clashed horribly with her bright pink lipstick, making her look quite odd, as if she put her makeup on in the dark. She was wearing red pants and a turtleneck with Christmas trees all over it.

'That's funny, I thought it was September, not December,' Ellie thought, trying to suppress her laughter. She looked over to Ashley so they could share a 'look', but Ashley was sitting there gaping, eyes wide and mouth hanging. Ellie wasn't sure which was funnier, the teacher or Ashley's reaction.

The teacher, seemingly trying to catch her breath, started fanning herself with the stack of papers she was holding. Then, she started taking deep breaths, inhaling through the mouth, exhaling through the nose. And just when Ellie thought things couldn't get any weirder, the woman grabbed a brown paper bag out of her large, polka dotted purse, emptied the food from it, put it up to her lips, and started breathing through it, the bag making a crunch sound every time she inhaled.

The whole class stopped what they were doing and looked at the teacher. She took one last breath through the bag and refilled it with its previous contents. She picked up her bag and the stack of papers she was fanning herself with just second ago, and walked to the desk in the front of the room. She emptied the load in her arms and looked satisfied.

"Ah, that's much better," she said in an annoyingly cheerful voice, and a hint of a British accent. It was then that she noticed that she had about 25 pairs of eyes watching her every move. "Oh, dear me. I'm so very sorry for being late. After I finished up at the lavatory, I got lost on my way back here. This is my first time having a room on the second floor, so I got a bit confused as to where everything was. Although, my husband says I'm too distracted all the time, that's why I'm always getting lost. It's rubbish though, I never listen to a word of it. He's a bit off his rocker himself, if you know what I mean." She let out a hearty laugh.

"Is this really happening?" Ellie heard some kid murmur from behind her. 

'Insert Twilight Zone music,' Ellie thought with an amused smirk.

"Well, let me introduce myself. My name is Mrs. Powanowski, but you may call me Mrs. P. And I know you kids are into all that hip lingo, believe me, so am I. But I do request that you don't call me Master P or P-Dawgg. In the classroom, I prefer Mrs. P. Is that okay with everyone?" she asked, looking around for somewhat of an answer. However, the room stayed silent, not a word was spoken. But this didn't faze the woman as she looked pleased enough. She clapped her hands together.

"Great! Now that you know my name, I would love to know yours. So I think it's time to take attendance and tell you where your seat will be," she said happily. All of a sudden, her eyes lit up like Christmas lights.

'Well, at least something matches her shirt now,' Ellie thought with an inward snicker.

"I think I can do both at the same time! Yes, I can tell you where your seat is, and I'll know if you're here or not. Oh, this is wonderful!" she said with a huge smile. She grabbed what looked like the seating chart out of her bag. "Let's see now, Ms. Sandra Abraham. Oh what a lovely name! I used to have a pussycat named Sandra, though we called her Sandy for short. She was so precious…" 

Ellie decided that right then would be a good time to tune the crazy woman out, as she babbled on about how 'Sandy' got caught in a tree and they had to call the fire department.

It was approximately 45 minutes later until Ellie's name was finally called. Ellie prayed to anyone who might be listening to her thoughts for Mrs. P to refrain from making any comments about her name.

"Ms. Ellie Nash, you will be sitting right here," she said, pointing to a desk seated directly in the front of the room. Ellie inwardly groaned, but sat down anyway. "Ellie? Oh my, what a unique name! Is that short for anything, dear?"

"Eleanor," she grumbled, wishing the floor would swallow her up before she had to endure any of the crazy woman's ramblings about nothing.

"Oh of course! Eleanor! Hey, did you know that Franklin D. Roosevelt was Eleanor Roosevelt's fifth cousin, once removed?" she asked, not giving Ellie enough time to even contemplate an answer. "Just a fun little fact. Next to Eleanor, Mr. Jonathan Neverland. Oh my goodness, Peter Pan has got to be my all time favorite…"

Ellie sighed with relief. Compared to poor Jonathan Neverland, she got off easy. She could deal with being called Eleanor for the rest of the year, but being reminded of Peter Pan and lost boys every time you draw attention to yourself? Talk about bad luck…
    
    It took Mrs. P another 30 minutes to finally get to Ms. Penelope Zuela. Ellie supposed she must've got caught up in how Jessica Randall had almost the same name as her late great aunt. Although Ellie wasn't sure how alike Jessica Randall and Janet Roslow were.

"…and that's how me and my husband got out of Venezuela, and back home. Oh, that was quite an adventure. Well, now that I know who's here, I want to know a little more about you. So, I'm going to hand out this personality quiz-," Mrs. P started but was cut off by the bell. Ellie and the rest of her confused classmates promptly started packing up their stuff and rushing out the door. Ellie threw her bag over her shoulder and headed over to Ashley, who was packing up her books that she hadn't touched once.

"I think I just might be speechless," Ashley said, taking one last look at Mrs. P before she and Ellie walked out of the classroom. 

"That woman is so…" Ellie started, searching for the right word, "eccentric?"

"Oh no, eccentric doesn't even begin to describe her," Ashley laughed, but both Ellie and Ashley knew it was true. When they reached the first floor, the girls went their separate ways.

"Well, I'm off to meet Craig," Ashley told Ellie. "I'll call you tonight, okay?"

"Yeah, bye," Ellie waved, and headed off to the lobby. When she finally reached the lobby, she groaned. There was Lain, standing with Manny, going on and on about something Ellie thought was probably scaring her. Ellie rushed over to the pair and pushed Lain out of the way. She gave Manny a nervous smile.

"Hey Manny! Listen, you'll have to excuse Lain. She isn't so right in the head. She's fallen down many flights of stairs," Ellie said quickly. Manny laughed.

"Oh don't worry, she didn't say anything crazy. She told me you would probably say something like that," Manny explained. "She was just asking about my brother's party."

"Oh, sorry," Ellie said, though not feeling very apologetic. She looked towards Lain, "I thought you were explaining 50 great uses of whiteout or something to her."

"Oh ye of little faith," Lain said with a sigh. "Although, the origins of whiteout are quite interesting. The woman that invented it was the mother of Michael Nesmith from the Mokees." Ellie raised her eyebrow, while Manny gaped at her. Lain just smiled at both of them.

"Anyway," Ellie cleared her throat, "let's go, shall we?"

"We most definitely shall," Lain said excitedly, leading the way to the back door. Ellie rolled her eyes, but followed anyways with Manny right behind her.

"Oh, shotgun!" Lain exclaimed when the trio reached the car. 

"Come on, isn't there like a first ride freebie sort of thing?" Manny complained, but her voice was laced with amusement. 

"Nope, sorry," Lain said as she opened the door and pushed the passenger seat forward so Manny could get in. "We play by the rules around here." And as soon as Lain shut the door, Ellie stepped on the gas and was out of the parking lot.

"So Manny, where do you live?" Ellie asked, realizing she had no clue where she was going.

"Oh, 8279 Borned Court," Manny told her. Ellie's eyes lit up.

"Do you live near Jacob Denner?"

"Well, I used to," Manny sighed dramatically. "Unfortunately, he left for college a week ago. I am so going to miss watching him undress from his bedroom window."

"Whoa, we got a perv in the car!" Lain exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "So, did you take any pictures?"

"No, I should have though," Manny said with a laugh. "So Ellie, you knew Jacob?"

"Well, kind of. I saw his band at a party I was dragged to by a certain someone," she said, noticeably turning her eyes towards Lain. "I didn't know him technically, but I did-"

"She didn't know him at all," Lain cut her off. "She did, however, stalk him." Ellie glared at her.

"I did not stalk him," Ellie defended, "I simply admired from afar. And the only reason I know where he lives is because I was forced into going to another party at his house by the same certain someone."

"Hey, you have me to thank for knowing the object of your obsession exists," Lain said. Ellie, not being able to come up with anything witty, settled for mumbling incoherent obscenities under her breath.

"It's the blue one," Manny told Ellie as she pulled into Borned Court. "Thanks for the ride Ellie, and nice meeting you Lain."

"It's nothing," Ellie replied as Manny stepped out of the car. "Oh hey, do you need a ride in the morning?"

"No, my mom drops me off at school before she goes to work. Thanks for the offer though," she waved at the two girls in the car. "Bye!"

"I'll see you in the lobby tomorrow after school," Ellie called out the window before backing out of the driveway.

"So, anything interesting happen to you today?" Lain asked while amusing herself by rolling the window up and down.

"Well, I suppose the most interesting thing that's happened today was me taking Spinner to the mall," Ellie started and told the whole story as Lain listened intently.

"And then what happened?" Lain questioned as Ellie reached the end of her story.

"I told you, he left with Paige," Ellie said with a sigh.

"So you guys didn't make out?" And as soon as the question escaped Lain's lips, Ellie stepped on the break hard, making both her and Lain thrust forward, their seatbelts preventing them from being sent through the windshield. Luckily for the two teenagers, they were at a stop sign and no cars were behind them.

"What?" Ellie asked, looking at Lain as though she'd grown two more heads.

"Well, it's obvious that you two are madly in love. I was just wondering if you automatically went straight for his pants," Lain shrugged. "But good idea. Wait a little while before you tour his body. You don't want him thinking your in this only for the sex. Wait, are you?"

"Okay, you've said a lot of idiotic things in the past, but this takes the cake," Ellie said, shaking her head. "You actually think I like Spinner? Spinner Mason?"

"Oh, it's obvious," Lain said in a tone of voice that made Ellie want to push her out of the car. "But it's okay if you're in denial right now. There's a word for a situation like this."

"Oh really? And what's that?" Ellie asked with a snort, becoming amused.

"I don't know," replied Lain who, after loosing interest in the window, was currently locking and unlocking the door. "But there's definitely a word for it."

"Unbelievable," Ellie muttered, shaking her head disbelievingly. If Lain heard Ellie's comment, she made no effort to reply and continued locking and unlocking the door. For a moment, Ellie relished the silence, but was only able to do so for no more than ten seconds.

"Oh my God!" Lain exclaimed, making Ellie jumped. "I think I was adopted and I just met my surrogate mother today!"

"You are not adopted," Ellie said flatly. "The first time you brought me over your house, your mother seemed inclined to show me all of your family photos, including those of you being born."

"They must've been fake," Lain said, waving the comment off. "Today, I met my personality twin. I swear we are so alike, it's uncanny. She was so nice, and she even complimented my name! She even had a cousin named Elaine who won the Junior Miss Pie Eating Contest!"

'You've got to be kidding me.'

"Let me guess," Ellie said slowly, closing her eyes, "Mrs. P?"

"Hey, how'd you know?"

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Man, that took forever. I must apologize for the delay, me and my best friend have been having rocky times, so you'll have to excuse that. Oh, and before everyone is all 'Hey, why is Ellie friends with that slut Manny?', remember that this is AU. In this crazy fic, Manny never became the hoochie mama she is now. She's still the old Manny we all know and, well…like better than the other one. So keep in mind that Manny:

-never came to school with her, as Liberty would say, underpants showing

-never slept with Craig…or half the population of Degrassi (just kidding! sorry Manny fans, I couldn't resist)

-and to completely rid herself of all hoochieness, I took her off the Spirit Squad and on the Volleyball Team. Why the Volleyball Team, you ask? Well, I am a little bias there ^-^

Thank you Reviewers:

**Solus Nemo: **You have no idea how much your review meant to me. Thank you so much ^-^ And I too have only thought of a few things they haven't down yet. One of them being a sex change O_o Personally, I vote Craig. See how much the Craig fanatics like him after that! Muahahah….ahem…

**InFaTuAtEd*cHiK: **Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Thanks for reviewing!

**Chocl8chps: **Aww, I love you too! LOL! Sorry, there wasn't any Manny/JT in this chapter, but don't worry. We will be seeing them a lot more of them in the future. Thanks for reviewing ^-^

**Tears of Stars: **Yes, Ellie and Spinner are unknowingly becoming friends. It's so much fun to torture characters through fanfiction ^-^ Thanks for reviewing!

**BlueMizuno: **Ahh yes, witty is definitely what I was going for. Maybe it's just me, but I've always thought Ellie was somewhat of a smart ass. Thanks for the review ^-^

**EvenAngelsFall22: **I could stop writing this fic right now and be happy, knowing I made at least one person laugh ^-^ And no, I have no clue who Kendall and Aidan are, but for time's sake, let's just pretend I do. LOL! Thanks so much for reviewing!

**Xtreme Nuisance: **LOL! Were you in class when you wrote this? Hope you like the new chapter, thanks for reviewing!

**PsYcHoJo: **Welcome to the Spinner/Ellie ship AKA the Darkside! LOL! Thanks for reviewing!

**Ellectra: **Oh man, I feel stupid. I'll have to go back and fix that. Thanks for the headsup. And yes I am a wrestling fan. However, I am slowly losing interest in it as it has gotten more and more ridiculous over the past few months. Kurt Angle is the only reason I keep watching. LOL! Thanks for the review ^-^

**Emmy-bone-kat: **Yep, this story is definitely on it's way to having an actual plot. LOL! Thanks for the review, and I hope you like the next chapter ^-^

**X Confused Girl x: ***bows* Thank you, thank you very much! LOL! I'm glad you like the pairing ^-^ Thanks for reviewing!

**Molly22: **I read your story and I love it. So, are you going to update any time soon? *wink hint hint wink* LOL! And don't worry about the whole exclamation thing. Exclamations are great!!!!!!!!!1 Ahem, thanks for reviewing!

**Bobby: **I'm glad you like it. Thanks for reviewing ^-^

**Love-fool: **Aww, thanks! I try and keep my stories original and creative, so I'm glad it's working. Thanks for reviewing ^-^

**Frankie: **Yes, Claire is a bit…irksome. But she'll get what's coming to her sooner or later. And yes, DPS happens to be my favorite movie of all time. However, the Ms. Keating in this story is going to be a mix of the English teacher I had last year and the English teacher I have this year, which should make for an interesting character…I hope ^-^ Thanks for reviewing!

**Katiecoos: **I do like the old season. Wow, you're from Australia? It must be pretty cool down there…or should I say down _under_? That's probably the lamest joke I've ever made in my life. Sorry if I'm scaring you. Anywho, thanks for reviewing ^-^

**Princess Punky: **I hope you have been converted to the Darkside AKA the Spinner/Ellie ship! LOL! Thanks for reviewing!

**The Inkblot Faery: **I felt compelled to mention Daria in at least one of my fics, just because she kicks so much butt. Thanks for reviewing ^-^

I apologize if half of what is written above is at all incoherent. It's 3 in the morning, my eyes are getting heavy, and I'm drooling on the keyboard. Thank god for the delete key ^-^' Well, I'm going to go to sleep. Farewell.

**[ Ashley, 12-6-03 ]**


	6. You Watch The Traffic Clear

**Title:** Must Get Out

**Rating: **PG-13 for language and themes

**Characters: **Ellie, Spinner, Paige, Ashley, Marco…(pretty much everyone, eventually)

**Pairings: **Spinner/Ellie, Manny/JT, not sure about any other pairings

**Summary: **Slight AU. She thinks he's an immature, self-centered pig. He thinks she's a weirdo, gothic freak. What happens when they start to care? Ellie/Spinner shipper fic.

**Disclaimer: **None of these characters belong to me. Don't sue.

**A/N: ***Dodges tomatoes thrown by angry readers * I know, I know. I'm really sorry. It's been quite a long time since I've updated, and I apologize. I've been kind of busy, but that's no excuse. But good news, I have a Degrassi website in the works. I'm a nerd, I know. But I'll be sure to post something about it on my Author's Page once I get it up. Anywho, lets get this chapter rolling. Onward!

**[ Ashley, 1-23-03 ]**

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**Chapter 6: You Watch The Traffic Clear**

The second Ellie woke up, she knew it was the start to a really bad day. It seemed she had unwillingly pressed the snooze button four times instead of her usual two. And because of this little mishap, it was obvious she was going to be late for school.

"Damn it!" Ellie exclaimed, now fully awake. She hopped out of bed and ran straight for the bathroom. She was in and out of the shower in a record time of three minutes and twenty-two seconds. She threw on some clothes, ran a brush through her hair, and flew down the stairs. She grabbed her bag, and headed for her car.

She backed out of her driveway, nearly running over her mailbox, and raced down the street. Before she knew it, she was in front of Lain's house, watching Lain stare at the sky and make weird facial expressions.

"What're you doing? Get in the car!" Ellie yelled out the window, unlocking the car door so Lain could get in. Lain jumped at the sound of Ellie's voice and did as she was told.

"Sorry, I was counting my teeth," Lain said as if it were normal to do so. Ellie rolled her eyes.

"Oh really?" she asked, clearly amused. "How many were there?"

"I don't know," Lain said irritably, shooting Ellie a glare. "Somebody interrupted me and I lost count."

"Well sorry," she replied, obviously not sorry at all, "I don't want to be late on the second day of school. But it seems it's inevitable." She glanced over at the clock, seeing it was already 7:40. "Oh yeah, we're definitely going to be late."

"Oh well. What's living life if you aren't late to school at least once?" Lain asked with a smile.

"A good life with a clean record and no detentions, that's what," Ellie retorted, stepping on the brake briefly for the stop sign. She waited less than a second before speeding forward. Ellie shot Lain a disgusted look as she sneezed four times in a row.

"Uh oh, snot emergency," Lain said, her hand flying over her nose. "Got any tissues in this dump?"

"Yeah, in the glove compartment," she said, ignoring the 'dump' comment. Lain grabbed a tissue and wiped her nose.

"Why do they call it a glove compartment?" Lain asked in wonderment. "Sure you can put gloves in it, but is that really all you keep in there?"

"The more important question," Ellie said in a bored tone, "is who really cares?" But Lain was too busy staring at something on the ground to reply to the rhetorical question.

"Ellie! What are these?" she questioned angrily, grabbing the pack of cigarettes that fell out of the glove compartment. "I thought you quit!"

"I did," Ellie said unconvincingly. "Those are just for…my friend." Lain shot her an apprehensive look.

"Oh really? Which friend?"

"Um…my friend, Annie," saying the first name that came to her head. "Yeah, you don't know her."

"Oh I know her Elle, her and everyone else from the world of we don't exist!" Lain cried out sarcastically. Ellie sighed loudly.

"Listen, I know you hate it, and so does everybody else I know, but it's really none of your business," Ellie said, making sure not to make eye contact with her friend. Lain snorted.

"Well sorry if I want to make you taking ten minutes of your life off every time you smoke these my business," Lain said, uncharacteristically angry. "Sorry I even bothered to care."

"It's not like I smoke a pack a day or anything," Ellie replied, getting annoyed.

"Yeah, well, you won't be saying that when you're in the hospital bed in ten years," she shot back.

"You know what? How about you live your life, and I live mine?" Ellie said as calmly as she could.

"Fine."

"Fine."

And the two sat in silence. Tension was high and Ellie was beginning to feel guilty. The two rarely got in fights and Lain was almost never serious about anything. Ellie found herself annoyed with the silence, but couldn't think of anything to say. 

"You know crotchety is a word?" Lain said, breaking the awkward silence. Ellie was silent for a moment before replying.

"Oh really?" she asked, glad that the argument was forgotten and things were back to normal.

"Yeah, and it doesn't have anything to do with crotches," she said in a miffed tone.

"Well that's a relief," Ellie said, flashing Lain a smile in which she returned.

"Ah, home sweet home," Lain said when Ellie made it to the parking lot. "And only fifteen minutes late!" While Lain was stepping out of the car, Ellie casually leaned over and grabbed the cigarettes that Lain had put back on the floor during their argument. After making sure Lain wasn't looking, she stuffed them inside of her bag and exited the car.

"Only fifteen minutes?" Ellie asked, arching an eyebrow. "We'll be lucky if homeroom isn't over yet."

"Homeroom, shomeroom," Lain said nonchalantly, dismissing it with the wave of her hand. "Elle, don't you get it? We're badasses." Ellie didn't even try to stop her eyes from rolling.

"I'll tell you what. You can stand here all day being a badass," she slung her bag over her shoulder and flashed Lain a smirk, "but I think I'm just gonna go to homeroom." Lain shook her head.

"Sellout." Ellie snorted and Lain laughed. 

"You know," Ellie started as they walked up the stairs to the school, "I still resent that you signed up for the chess club homeroom."

"Hey, me and my chess buddies got to stick together!" Lain told her, making a fist and hitting it against her chest twice.

"Yeah, but you left me with Paige and Spinner. The…demonic duo." Lain smirked.

"Yeah, I'm sure you're all torn up," she said sarcastically, shaking her head. While Ellie stared at her from the top of the steps, Lain entered the school, not bothering to hold the door for her friend. Once Ellie realized Lain was ahead of her, she grabbed the door, swung it open, and ran after her.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" she asked, finally catching up with Lain.

"Oh I think you know what it means, you strumpet, you," Lain replied, suggestively waggling her eyebrows. Ellie gave her a confused look.

"Strumpet? What? Lain, what the hell?"

"Au revoir, Mademoiselle," Lain said with a wave. She laughed abruptly. "Get it? Mademois_elle_. I call you Elle and I said Mademoiselle." Ellie rolled her eyes.

"Funny," she said sarcastically. "Now what'd you mean?" Lain just waved again.

"Sayonara, Ellie-Chan," she said before walking into Room 111, the chess homeroom. Ellie sighed and continued on her way to homeroom. She had two minutes before the bell to first period rung, so she began to speed walk. When she finally made it inside Room 340, she was out of breath and her fellow classmates were all staring at her as if she had grown two heads. When Ellie finally caught her breath, she headed over to Ms. Keating, who was reading a magazine on time travel. When Ms. Keating noticed Ellie out of the corner of her eye, she put down her magazine and lifted her eyebrows.

"Sorry I'm late. My alarm clock, um, malfunctioned," Ellie explained awkwardly. She knew it was a long shot, but it was worth a try. "It's from…Argentina. And," she laughed nervously, "You know how reliable those Argentineans can be." Ms. Keating continued to stare at her before shaking her head.

"Well alright," she grabbed the attendance sheet and made a mark next to Ellie's name, "but next time you're late, try to be more respective of those from other parts of the world. I mean, what have they ever done to you?" Ms. Keating sighed and continued reading her magazine. Ellie decided it was best to just say nothing and took a seat at the first empty desk she spotted.

'Well, I guess there is an upside to having a kook as a homeroom teacher,' she mused. While she was staring at the clock, counting down the seconds before the bell rang, she sensed someone sit next to her.

"Geeze, Nash. It's only the second day of school and you've already been late twice," a familiar voice teased. "You know, the whole rebellious thing is kind of sexy."

'Christ in heaven, I can't catch a break,' she thought to herself, sighing loudly in frustration.

"Hey Mason," Ellie said in a mock cheerful voice, "why don't you try jumping off a very tall building?"

"After you, darling," Spinner replied with a smirk. It was then that the bell rang. And as Spinner left without another word, Ellie realized that he had won this little quarrel.

'You won for now, Mason, but the war is far from over,' she thought with satisfaction. She then frowned as she came to another realization. 'God help me, I sound like Lain.' Forcing thoughts of Spinner to the back of her mind, she grabbed her schedule out of her bag and headed out the door. 'Hmm, Government, Room 313. Right around the corner, for once I won't be late.'

"Hey, Elle! Wait up!" she heard a voice call from behind her. She turned around and spotted Joe Kim, her friend of one year. Joe was a tall, lanky, Japanese-American jazz lover who'd moved to Canada not two years ago. She'd met him through Lain and they became fast friends. They both shared the same sense of humor and he was a pro at the saxophone, both of which were pluses in Ellie's book.

"Hey Joe, how've you been? I didn't see you at all this summer!" Joe smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry about that," he apologized, "me and my brother went back to LA."

"Really? Craig went to the States this summer, too. Did you have a good time?" Ellie asked, still walking towards Room 313 with Joe right beside her.

"It was okay," he shrugged. "It was kind of awkward when I visited my old friends, but it was good to be back, nonetheless. So, where are you going?"

"Government, you?"

"Same," he said and they walked the rest of the way together. When they got to the classroom, they joined the rest of the class in just standing around and talking. When the bell rang and the teacher walked in, the class quieted down.

"Good morning class, my name is Mr. Keller," the man said kindly, writing his name on the front board. Mr. Keller was a buff looking African American, with a tough exterior, but a kindness in his eyes. His hair was neatly cut and he was dressed nicely, tie and all. "Welcome to Government class. I see I have some of my soccer players in the class. Novac and Murray," the two boys' heads shot up, "you two are the unluckiest ones in the class. For every bad grade you get, that's five more laps around the field." Novac and Murray laughed with their coach, knowing that the man was joking. Mr. Keller continued.

"I know most of you think that this class is a waste of time, and I know I probably can't do anything to change your mind. But here's how I see it, how many of you have heard your parents talking about politics?" Almost every hand was raised. "How many of you hear about politics on the news?" Almost every hand was raised. "How many of you know exactly what they're talking about?" Only a few hands were raised. "When you grow up, people are going to assume you know all about Canada's legal practices and how the government works. And once you turn eighteen, you are going to be able to vote in federal elections and referendums. So unless you want to come off as a real idiot and live your life smiling and nodding without any clue what people are talking about, I think it'd be in your best interest to take this class seriously." And with that, the teacher began taking attendance and reading off the seating chart.

"He seems pretty cool," Joe whispered to Ellie. "Kind of an oddball, though."

"Hey, compared to the rest of my teachers, he's as normal as you can get," she told him, remembering Ms. Casper and Mrs. P. Once everyone was seated in their assigned seat, Mr. Keller went up to the chalkboard without a word and wrote 'What do you think making the right decision means?'

"Please copy the question on a piece of loose leaf and write your answer in three paragraphs, five sentences each." The class groaned, but did as they were told. Ellie started digging through her bag for her notebook when she felt the plastic of the pack of cigarettes she had stuffed in there before. The minute she laid eyes on the carton, she had a craving. A craving she knew wasn't going to go away.

'Damn it,' she thought as she tried to think of a plan. 'Ah, I got it.' She walked up to Mr. Keller's desk and cleared her throat to get his attention.

"Sorry to bother you, but I left my notebook in my locker," she said as sweetly as she could. "Can I have a pass to go get it?"

"Sure," he replied, grabbing a green slip out of his desk. "Who should I write this out for?"

"Ellie Nash." He took a second to fill out the pass.

"Here you go," he handed it to her.

"Thanks," she said and headed towards the door.

"Don't take too long, Ellie Nash," he told her right as she got to the door. She turned around and nodded before rushing out of the classroom. When she made it outside, she went to the side of the building and grabbed her lighter and a cigarette out of her bag. She put the cigarette in her mouth and tried to light it up, but it seemed as if her lighter was out of gas.

"You have got to be shitting me," she said to herself, trying to light the cigarette once again, but the cigarette remained unlit. And then, out of nowhere, a flame came up and lit the cigarette. She inhaled the sweet toxins and closed her eyes in satisfaction. She had no idea who had provided the flame, but at the moment, she couldn't have cared less. Well, that was, until the person spoke.

"You're welcome," the all but unfamiliar voice from beside her said. Ellie was snapped out of her reverie and cursed her luck.

"Are you stalking me or something? And for your information, it's illegal," she turned to Spinner and shot him an incriminating glare. Spinner rolled his eyes.

"You wish," he said with a smirk. He took a drag of his own cigarette and casually blew the smoke out of his mouth. "I didn't know you smoked."

"You don't know a lot of things about me," she said, leaning against the brick wall.

"That's not true, I know a lot of things about you," he turned to face her. "I know your birthday is May 27. And I know your address is 9716 Maple Tree Court." Ellie's eyes widened.

"You really are stalking me," she said in disbelief. Spinner started to laugh.

"Not quite," he took grabbed something out of his pocket and handed it to her. "You dropped this in homeroom." She took the card from him and looked at it. Her Student ID.

"Christ, you scared the shit out of me," she said, sighing in relief. She put the card in her bag and flicked off the ashes at the end of her cigarette.

"You really shouldn't smoke," Spinner said ironically, inhaling his cigarette again. "It's bad for you."

"Says the man who smokes himself," Ellie rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well I tried quitting," he told her. "But nobody likes quitters." Ellie laughed.

"Well it's not like I haven't tried quitting, either. I tried the patch, that god awful nicotine gum," she said with a snort. "Guess I'm just a natural born smoker." Spinner laughed.

"Welcome to the club," he said, flashing her a smile. She was about to return the smile when she remembered that she hated him. He took one last drag before putting out the cigarette with his shoe. He lifted his head to face her. "You'd better get to class. Teacher might suspect something." Ellie rolled her eyes once more.

"Thanks Mom," she said sarcastically. Spinner laughed and started to walk away. She watched him head towards the back door before he paused and turned around.

"Hey Nash," he tossed something to her. And thanks to her cat like reflexes, she caught it without dropping her cigarette. Spinner smirked and shook his head before once again walking away. Ellie watched his retreating back until he was out of sight. She looked down at her hand to see what he had thrown at her.

That god awful nicotine gum.

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Hmm…I'm not really happy with this chapter, but it's okay. And some of you more observant readers might be thinking 'But in chapter two it said Ellie wasn't big on smoking or drinking.' When I wrote that, I meant she wasn't very big on smoking pot or doing any other drugs of the sort. I went back and fixed that to make it more clear.

Thanks:

**X Confused Girl x: **Sorry it took me forever to update. I'm a lazyass. Anywho, I'm glad you liked Lain. Thanks for reviewing ^-^

**Trapped*In*A*BoxX: **Well, it always makes me happy when I make someone's day. LOL! I'm glad you like Lain and Mrs. P. Thanks for reviewing!

**Ellectra: **Ah yes, Mrs. P is a spaz, but so is Spinner, so I guess they cancel each other out ^-^ Thanks for reviewing!

**EvenAngelsFall22: **Heh…most of the things that happen in this story have happened to either me or my friends and all of the original characters are based on people I know. Weird, I know. LOL! And I too would tour Spinner's body any day. But I guess we'll both have to get in line. LOL! Thanks for reviewing ^-^

**JamiesAngel2008: **I updated! It took me a while, but I updated nonetheless. Thanks for reviewing and I hope you enjoyed chapter 6.

**Chocl8chps: **I'm glad you like Mrs. P. And thanks for the advice on how to cure writer's block. I always listen to music when I'm writing. All of the chapter titles except one and two have been lines from songs I was listening to at the time. Thanks for the review ^-^

**Just Another One in the Crowd: **You had a teacher like Mrs. P? I feel your pain! LOL! And don't worry, there will be a lot more Ellie and Spinner interaction in the future. Thanks for reviewing!

**Solus Nemo: **LOL! I'm sure Mrs. P would have a lot to say about your name! Thanks for your kind words and I hope you enjoyed chapter 6.

**Amethyst: **LOL! I like Ellie's braids too! One of the reasons I love the Spinner/Ellie pairing is because it's so unusual and it's not done very often. I'm glad your enjoying the story, and thanks for the review!

**LusciousCheese: **I'm glad you like the pairing. And we should be seeing more JT/Manny in the future. And I'm glad you like the teachers. Just out of curiosity, which one is your favorite? I'd have to say mine is Mr. Keller because he is the exact replica of my Government teacher I had last year. Anywho, thanks for the review ^-^

**PrincessPunky: **Yes, Mrs. P is very scary. LOL! And I too hate how trashy she's acting. Thanks for the review and I hope you enjoyed chapter 6 ^-^

**Emmy-bone-kat: **I hope things between you and your friend are okay. A monkey on hallucinogens? That's an interesting image! LOL! Mrs. P's wardrobe? Think of Mimi from Drew Carey clashed with Amber from Clueless. LOL! Thanks for reviewing ^-^

**The Inkblot Faery: **I'm glad you like Lain. LOL, your right. Ellie is way too good for Spinner. But Spinner can be a sweet guy when he wants to, which is like never. LOL! Thanks for reviewing ^-^

**Little Miss Lena: **I'm glad you're enjoying the story, I'm having a lot of fun writing it. Thanks for the review, and I hope you liked chapter 6!

**Crazy Canadian: **The one thing I was worried about was the pace of the story. I wanted to take things slow, but I wasn't sure if readers would like that. So thanks for reassuring me ^-^ Thanks for reviewing!

**Vipper902: **Ellie is one of my favorite characters, too. I'm glad you're enjoying the story and I hope you liked chapter 6. Thanks for the review ^-^

**Faker: **I remind you of you? LOL! You must be pretty cool then! Just kiddin'! Anywho, I'm glad you gave the story a chance even though you weren't very gung-ho on the pairing. Thanks for reviewing!

**Xtreme Nuisance: **Aww…I can't believe you would be reading fanfiction when you are supposed to be doing your homework! LOL, just kidding! I do the same thing. LOL! Thanks for reviewing ^-^

**Punkxrawker: **Yeah, I like anything with Spinner in it to, LOL! Thanks for reviewing and I hope you enjoyed chapter 6!

**Kryptonite: **Rear in gear? LOL! Don't worry, Spinner should be coming to his senses sooner or later. Anywho, thanks fro reviewing ^-^

Ahh, my hands hurt. And I really wish the keys weren't so close together. LOL! Anywho, I have no idea when the next chapter will be out, but until then…farewell!

**[Ashley, 1-25-04]**


	7. Hold The Wheel And Drive

**Title:** Must Get Out

**Rating: **PG-13 for language and themes

**Characters: **Ellie, Spinner, Paige, Ashley, Marco…(pretty much everyone, eventually)

**Pairings: **Spinner/Ellie, Manny/JT, not sure about any other pairings

**Summary: **Slight AU. She thinks he's an immature, self-centered pig. He thinks she's a weirdo, gothic freak. What happens when they start to care? Ellie/Spinner shipper fic.

**Disclaimer: **None of these characters belong to me. Don't sue.

**A/N: **Well, Chapter 7. Can you believe it? I, for one, cannot. 'MGO' has been the most fun project I've worked on in my short writing career and I can't wait to see where this story goes. Of course, I can't go on without thanking the readers and everyone who reviewed. You guys rock it to the max. In other news, I'm thinking of changing the rating to 'R' because of my horrible potty mouth. I can't seem to get the 's' or 'f' words out of my system - For any updates, see the 'UPDATE' section on my profile. Now, onward!

**[ Ashley, 7-6-04 ]**

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**Chapter 7: Hold The Wheel And Drive**

"I'll see you on Friday," Ellie said to Joe as they headed out of Government. Joe nodded.

"Bye Elle," Joe waved before they went their separate ways. Ellie sighed as she headed down the stairs.

'Food and Nutrition. Sounds fairly painless, but then again, so did Psychology,' she thought as she continued to make her way to the kitchens.

"Oh Eleanor!" she heard a familiar voice call her. "Where are you headed, my dearest?" Ellie smirked.

"Why Elaine, darling! To Food and Nutrition," she waited for Lain to catch up to her.

"Well, then we must walk together," Lain said as she caught up. "For I, Elaine F. Maxwell, am headed there as well." Ellie snorted.

"Lovely." Lain ignored her comment and linked arms with Ellie, starting to drag her down the stairs.

"To the kitchens!" she exclaimed, causing a few of the hallway dwellers to stare. When they made it to the first floor, they were disappointed to find that it was not as secluded as the stairway. In fact, they were finding it almost impossible to move without getting elbowed in the stomach or getting their feet stepped on.

'Jesus Christ, when the hell did Degrassi get this crowded?' Ellie thought to herself as she saw one poor Grade 7 get pushed down and completely trampled on. Ellie heard something beside her growl and looked over at Lain, who had a mean look on her face.

"Alright Elle, were gonna have to go all out here! Remember," she said as she once again linked arms with Ellie, "no mercy!" And with that, Lain let out a war cry and began hitting everything in sight. Ellie looked on in disbelief as she watched her friend trip a girl that was in her way.

"Lain, what the hell-," Ellie started, but Lain continued to drag her friend through the crowd without responding.

"Whoopsie!" Lain said unapologetically to the fellow she had just kneed. "Look out, comin' through!" Lain looked over at Ellie who still had a look of disbelief on her face. "Come on, Elle! Join the fun!" She pushed a young woman into the wall and grinned at her friend. In return, Ellie just rolled her eyes.

When they finally made it to the kitchens, Lain clasped her hands together and let out a relieved sigh.

"Now that was hardcore!" she said with a smile. "And although I did all the work, mission accomplished. Congratulations Eleanor!" Ellie shook her head.

"You are so weird," she replied and entered the kitchens, leaving her friend behind. Lain caught up with her and the two stood in the back with the rest of their classmates. The bell rang shortly after they arrived and the rest of the class quieted down as the teacher walked in.

The teacher was a thin woman, probably in her mid-forties. She had cropped blonde hair and a short stature. Over her pantsuit, she wore an apron that read 'Nothin' Says Lovin' Like Somethin' From The Oven.' She looked around the classroom and smiled.

"Good morning class, my name is Mrs. Hunter and welcome to Food and Nutrition," she said warmly. "Throughout the year-," she started, but was interrupted when someone ran into the room.

"SorryI'mlateitwasreallycrowded," the young man said quickly, barely understandable. Mrs. Hunter raised her eyebrow, but continued.

"Anyway, as I was saying, throughout the year-," the teacher again started, but this time Ellie wasn't able to hear the rest because of something, rather someone, poking her side continually.

"What?" she whispered irritably to Lain. Lain pointed to the person who came in late.

"You know who that is?" she asked in a teasing voice. Ellie tried to get a better look at him, but the head of a fellow classmate blocked her view.

"No, who?"

"Only the love of your life!" Lain whispered back. When Ellie continued to look bewildered, Lain smacked her forehead. "It's Spinner! D'uh!" Ellie rolled her eyes.

"Are you serious?" she asked incredulously. Lain grinned and nodded, causing Ellie to let out an annoyed sigh. "What the hell is with this? Is Raditch out to get me, or something? I mean, he knows I hate Spinner! I bet he decided to put us in the same classes for shits and giggles." Ellie snarled and Lain laughed.

"Calm down, dear. We sometimes like to call situations like these coincidences…or is it luck of the draw? I don't know, but it's definitely one of them," Lain told her. "No one is conspiring against you."

"Yeah, I'm sure," Ellie replied sarcastically. "I guess Spinner just _had _to take Food and Nutrition, right? Come on now, who takes Food and Nutrition anyways?"

"Um…us?" Lain shrugged.

"Besides us."

"Everyone else in the class?"

"Alright, fine! But that still doesn't explain why Spinner is in three," she held up three fingers to emphasize her point, "of my classes so far. Not to mention homeroom and my constant run ins with him."

"Hmm…you know, you and Spinner have been in quite a few compromising situations lately," Lain said thoughtfully, scratching her chin. "Sheesh, this is like a Britney Spears music video!" Ellie rolled her eyes and returned her focus on Mrs. Hunter, who was currently taking a head count of the class.

"26…27. Perfect! There are six kitchens, so there'll be five groups of four and one group of three. Everyone can pick there own group, as long as you pick people you work well with because these will be your groups for the rest of the year," she warned. "So go ahead and get with your groups and then we'll assign you to your kitchens." Ellie looked over to Lain who was scanning the room.

"Quick Elle! We need to recruit people!" Lain grabbed Ellie by the arm and dragged her over to Hazel Aden and her friend, Jackie Baron.

"Hey friends!" Lain said cheerfully. "What do you say we group up?" Hazel snorted and Jackie eyed Ellie with disgust.

"Thanks, but no. We're already in a group," she informed the duo. Lain frowned as Jackie and Hazel left to go sit with the third member of their group.

"Crap," Lain said, scanning the room once again. "Aha! Fresh meat!" She then dragged Ellie towards two boys she didn't recognize. Ellie wondered if Lain knew these guys, and if she did, she also wondered if she could introduce them. They were rather cute.

"Howdy fellas!" Lain greeted. "Would you mind being in our group? It seems like everyone else is taken."

"Sorry," the shorter of the boys apologized. "We're already in a group with our girlfriends."

"Girlfriends? Boo!" Lain exclaimed loudly, making the two boys jump and Ellie very embarrassed. Before Lain could scare the young lads anymore, Ellie dragged her away.

"Nice going, hotshot," Ellie hissed. "I think you've successfully managed to scare them away for good."

"Oh well, you win some, you lose some," Lain smiled. Ellie threw her hands up in defeat.

"I give up," Ellie said, exasperated. She looked around the room to find that almost everyone had found a group, except them. "Great, now we're groupless!"

"Well if it isn't my favorite lady friend. What's going on, Nash? Couldn't stay away from me for more than an hour?" Ellie whipped around to find Spinner approaching Lain and herself, with Jimmy Brooks in tow.

"Spinner! Jimmy!" Lain said before Ellie could say anything. "We were just looking for you two!" Spinner raised an eyebrow.

"You were?" he asked.

"We were?" Ellie piped in.

"Sure we were!"

"Um…why?" Jimmy asked.

"Because we wanted to be in your group of course," Lain said with a smile. Ellie was about to say something, but Lain shut her up with an elbow to the stomach. "Yeah I mean, everybody in the class was coming up to us asking to be in our group, but we saw you two and we knew that for this group to be complete, you guys were going to have to be in it." And Lain smiled the most shit eating grin Ellie had ever seen.

"Really? Well, sorry to disappoint, but I don't think-," Jimmy started.

"We'd love to be in your group," Spinner interrupted with a grin. Jimmy narrowed his eyes at Spinner.

"What did you just say?"

"I said that we'd love to be in their group," Spinner repeated, grinning even wider when Ellie groaned. Jimmy shook his head in disbelief.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Who said that we wanted to-,"he started again, but was cut off this time by Mrs. Hunter.

"Hopefully everyone is in a group and settled," she said, placing a clipboard on the table in Kitchen #6. "Now, when I assign you to a kitchen, I want everyone in the group to sign their name on the clipboard. When everyone has signed, I'll collect the clipboard and wait in your kitchen area for further directions," she instructed. She looked around the room and pointed to a group of four in the back. "Okay, you four will be in Kitchen #1, right over there." Mrs. Hunter guided them to their kitchen and went on to the next group.

"Dude, what the hell are you thinking?" Ellie heard Jimmy whisper to Spinner. Spinner laughed.

"Chill out, man," he patted Jimmy on the shoulder. Before Jimmy could retort, Mrs. Hunter walked up to them.

"Are you four a group?" she questioned. Ellie looked up when no one answered. Lain was apparently too busy fiddling with the zipper on her jacket to even realize Mrs. Hunter was there. Jimmy was glaring at Spinner, who in return was cracking up laughing. Mrs. Hunter raised an eyebrow at Ellie.

"Uh, yeah," she answered quickly. "We're a group."

"Great," Mrs. Hunter smiled. "You four are going to be in Kitchen #4." Ellie smacked Lain on the back of the head to get her out of her zipper daze. Lain's head snapped up.

"What? What happened?" Lain asked, looking around. Ellie let out an annoyed sigh and followed Mrs. Hunter, with Lain, Spinner, and Jimmy right behind her. They made it to their kitchen and the teacher handed the clipboard to Spinner.

"Everyone sign their name on the clipboard and I'll be around to get it in a minute," she told them and went off to the last two groups. Spinner scribbled his name on the paper and passed the clipboard to Jimmy.

"This year is going to be so much fun," he said, sending a smile to Ellie, only to get a glare in return. "Isn't it, Jim?" Jimmy rolled his eyes and passed the clipboard to Ellie.

"Oh yeah," he plopped down on one of the chairs occupying the table. "Looking forward to it." Ellie quickly signed her name and gave the clipboard to Lain, who truly did look excited.

"Well I know I am," she said while writing her name. She looked up from the clipboard and smiled. "I hope we have a cooking competition. I make a mean Mac and Cheese." To Ellie's surprise, Spinner laughed.

"Psh, my spray cheese omelet would dominate your lame macaroni," he said.

"A battle of the cheese dishes…interesting," Lain said, toying with the towel that was hanging on the oven door. Jimmy shook his head at the two.

"You guys are bizarre," he said and Ellie nodded. Ellie then turned her attention to Mrs. Hunter who was now standing in the front of the classroom.

"Great, now that everyone's settled in, we'll do our first activity," she clasped her hands together. "Now, if you'll notice, your kitchens aren't in the best condition. That's because they haven't been cleaned out since last year." Mrs. Hunter paused while some of the more nauseous folks groaned.

"Ew!" Jackie exclaimed from Kitchen #2. "Gross me out!"

"Now, it's your job as a group to clean your kitchens," Mrs. Hunter continued. "You'll have to wash the dishes and the silverware, clean out the refrigerator, wipe the counters…" she went on. "When you think you're done, call me over and I'll inspect your area. If I think it's okay, you will be done cleaning. If I don't think it's good enough, you'll keep cleaning until it is. Now, start cleaning!"

"Alright, now let's assign jobs," Jimmy said, the perfectionist in him kicking in. "Let's see, Lain, you can clean out the refrigerator."

"Aye, aye Captain," Lain said with a salute and went over to the refrigerator.

"Ellie, you can wash the dishes, and Spin you can dry them and put them away," Jimmy instructed. "And I'll mop the floor and clean the table." Ellie nodded and went over to the sink. She turned the handle, but it refused to move.

"Argh," she groaned as she continued to pull. Spinner laughed from beside her. "Shut up!" Ellie pulled as hard as she could, but the faucet would not turn on.

"Need some help?" Spinner asked as he too started pulling at the handle. Ellie glared at him.

"No, I don't need your help!" Ellie hissed at him as she continued to pull.

"Fine," Spinner said, taking his hands off the handle, "let's see you do it, then." Ellie sent him another glare.

"I…will!" she exclaimed with one last pull. The handle finally moved and the faucet finally turned on. However, the water did not flow into the sink. Instead, it sprayed Ellie and Spinner right in the face.

"What the…?" Jimmy said from his position on the floor. He looked over to Ellie and Spinner and gasped. "Oh my God!" he shouted and rushed over to them. Ellie pushed Spinner and herself out of the path of the water, but the damage was already done. They were both soaked, head to toe. Spinner glared at the faucet and turned it off. Lain, finally realizing the commotion, walked over to them, a rotting watermelon in her arms.

"Did you two go swimming or something?" Lain asked, confused.

"Or something," Ellie mumbled. Jimmy looked over at the faucet and sighed. He picked up the piece of metal sitting next to the sink and screwed it on the faucet. He glanced at the two soaking, angry teenagers before him and laughed nervously.

"Uh…all fixed," he told them, but just got glares in return. "Hey don't be mad at me! You two were on sink duty, you should have inspected the faucet before turning it on."

"Oh, sorry, you're right. I'm just not used to faucets spraying in my face!" Spinner seethed. Lain clicked her tongue.

"You guys! Look what you did to the kitchen!" she said, placing the moldy watermelon on the table and walking around the messy kitchen. Ellie snorted.

"What a shame," she said sarcastically, squeezing the water out of her hair. "And hey, I don't think that watermelon's doing anything for that table." Jimmy let out a girlish scream and ran over to the table.

"I just washed the table, get it off!" he cried. Lain quickly grabbed the watermelon and threw it in the trash. Jimmy sighed and looked around at the kitchen. "I guess we're just going to have to clean it up. Do we have any paper towels or anything?"

"We have this," Lain said, holding up the towel she was playing with before. Ellie rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, cause that's gonna clean up all this," she gestured towards the soaked floor.

"Listen, you and Spin go to the washroom and get as many paper towels as you can, okay?" Jimmy told the soaked duo. They didn't move. "Don't just stand there! Go! Run!" Spinner groaned, but headed to the door, mumbling obscenities under his breath.

"Unbelievable," Ellie shook her head and followed Spinner. They both made it out of the kitchens and into the hallway. They began walking to the washroom, their wet shoes squeaking along the way. "Why me? Why do these things always happen to me?" Ellie said more to herself than to Spinner.

"I guess you're just that special," Spinner laughed.

"Oh no, if I was special, we wouldn't be in any of the same classes and I wouldn't be walking in the hallway with you, drenched in water."

"Oh, Ellie, I'm hurt!" Spinner said, putting his hand over his heart. "You don't want to be in any of the same classes?" Ellie let out a short laugh.

"I'd rather listen to Lain play 'Can You Feel The Love Tonight' on the clarinet. You don't know pain if you've never heard that," Ellie joked, but Spinner didn't laugh. Ellie looked over at him. "Oh come on. Like you actually enjoy being in the same classes with me, let alone being in the same room as me? Yeah right. You hate me, I hate you. That's the way it's always been."

"I never said I hated you," he said quietly and Ellie was shocked when she heard sincerity in his voice. Ellie stopped walking and stared at him.

"I…" she started, but couldn't find any words. Spinner smiled faintly at her and continued walking, leaving Ellie standing in the hallway staring after him.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Gah! Could I get any more melodramatic? Anywho, I'm terribly sorry for the long wait. Hopefully the next chapter will be up a lot sooner than this one was.

Thanks:

**TrappedinAb0x: **Hey, no problem. And I'm glad I made your day. Thanks for reviewing -

**Chocl8chips: **I feel so bad, I went another chapter with no Manny/JT! But don't worry, they will be in future chapters. Oh, and about the kooky characters, most of the original characters are based on people I know in real life. Scary, huh? LOL! Thanks for reviewing!

**X Confused Girl x: **Aww…thanks! I'm glad you are enjoying the story so far. Thanks for reviewing and I hope you liked chapter 7!

**EvenAngelsFall22: **I think my alarm clock was made in China, but I want a refund, it doesn't wake me up! LOL! Anywho, thanks for understanding my updating crisis. Writer's block totally reeks. Thanks for reviewing!

**Xtreme Nuisance: **It was snowing when you wrote your reviewing? I really haven't updated in forever! LOL! And I don't worry, I don't think any teachers would be reading this story. I don't think they could take the sheer stupidity of it! LOL! Thanks for reviewing -

**Kryptonite: **Ahh yes, the curse of heredity. Luckily, I am fully convinced I am adopted so I am in no way like my "mother"…I hope. LOL! Thanks for reviewing!

**Little Miss Lena: **Uh oh, I hope you're still alive. This time it took me six months to update! Thanks for reviewing and I hope you enjoyed chapter 7!

**One last chance: **So have you jumped on the nonexistent Ellie/Spinner bandwagon yet? Thanks for the compliments on the original characters - And thanks for reviewing!

**AR: **Ah yes, that would be rather funny, but Ellie has already been traumatized by being locked in a janitor's closet once! She might go crazy if it happens again, especially with Spinner, LOL! Thanks for reviewing.

**Solus Nemo: **They most certainly will be a unique couple, if they ever get their acts together and realize they got the hots for each other…or rather if I ever speed up the plot and get things moving with them. LOL! Thanks for reviewing!

**Denni: **I hope you enjoyed chapter 7 and thanks for reviewing!

**Dear Aunt Elladora: **Once again, my utmost apologies for not updating. And I applaud you for actually going up to the smokers. Usually I wait until they pass me and I'll turn to my friends and be like 'they're gonna die!' LOL! Thanks for reviewing -

**Dulcinequijano: **Thank you for the constructive criticism. I know a few of the characters are OOC, but that's only for the plot of the story, that's why in the summary it says Slight AU. Also, I started writing this story before the episode where Ellie started cutting aired. And even if it had, I would have disregarded it for the sake of the plot. Thanks for reviewing and I hope you enjoyed chapter 7!

**Wert: **Wahoo! Another Ellie/Spinner shipper! Rock on! Thanks for reviewing -

**Vipper902: **I'm glad you are enjoying the story - Thanks for reviewing!

**Mish-Yuna: **You have a teacher like Mrs. P? oO I am so sorry, LOL! Thanks for reviewing!

**Dude: **Dude, I updated? Am I cooler now? Thanks for reviewing - Later dude!

**XxTwitchyxCharmxx: **Ellie/Sean? Shudders I didn't realize how much I liked Emma/Sean until all this Ellie/Sean madness, LOL! And yes, Spinner and Sean(especially with his beanie) are quite the lookers. And I hope the Hot Topic near you is bigger than the Hot Topic near me. It's so crowded in there, and a little smelly, too. But there's always hot guys working there - Thanks for reviewing!

**Abe's Babe: **Is it that obvious that all they wanna do is make out with each other? …it definitely is! LOL! Thanks for reviewing!

Golden stars for all of you lovely folks. And hey, if anyone wants to chat or something, feel free to IM or e-mail me. I love to chatter! Hope everyone liked this chapter and pray for writer's block to burn in hell every night before you go to bed -

**[Ashley, 7-12-04]**


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